The Lies We Tell
by glitterpop
Summary: S/D with a hint of SenGen. When Serena transfers to her rival highschool, she never expects to be faced with arrogant Darien Shields, love hexagons, mean girls, or the bitter school rivalry that ignites as a result of her departure.
1. Of New Enemies and Beginnings

The Lies We Tell

* * *

_Introduction:_

Hey, all! Before we begin our story, I'd just like to clear up a few things. First of all, this story is an AU in the since that there is no Sailor Moon or super powers; just people. I wanted to focus on the characters this time around. This story was inspired by the tale of Helen of Troy with a pinch of a Midsummer Night's Dream. It was also heavily inspired by "I Must Be Dreaming" and "Girls Do What They Want" both by The Maine (if you like listening to music while reading fics, I highly recommend them!) Anyways, enough of my rambling and on with the show!

_PS:_ For the record...

Ken=Kunzite, Jed=Jadeite, Zack=Zoicite, Nick=Nephrite, and Damon=Diamond

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Sailor Moon in any way, shape or form. Now, I will wave my magic wand and magically make this disclaimer apply to the chapters to come!

* * *

Chapter One: Of New Enemies and Beginnings

* * *

Leaves of the impending fall season crackled under Serena Tsukino's white tennis shoes as she strode with as much confidence as she could muster towards the ivy-covered building in front of her. The prestigious Moto Azabu Academy looked particularly menacing this blustering September morning, she noted; not that she had seen it enough times to safely conclude that.

Her insides roiled with nerves as she approached her new school. Despite her anxiety, she also felt somewhat excited. She had a clean slate, a fresh start. She could be whoever she wanted.

When her parents had informed her that she would be attending Moto Azabu for her junior year instead of Juuban Prep, the school she had attended since freshmen year, she had been aggrieved to say the least. The thought of leaving her best friend Molly and her (now ex) boyfriend seemed cruel, but over the expanse of a few months, she had grown fond of the idea of being a transfer student. Her life had been getting boring; it was about time something interesting happened.

However, Serena wasn't completely naive. Anyone going to either of the private schools was aware of the intense rivalry between the two schools. Both Moto Azabu Academy and Juuban Prep were the best schools in the city. Transferring from one of the schools to the other was practically unheard of. When she had told her friends that she was trading in her maroon and silver uniform for a navy and gold one, they had been appalled, though they eventually got their heads around the idea. She hoped her fellow classmates would be just as understanding. From what she had heard about Moto Azabu, she wasn't sure they would be.

Where Juuban Prep was more laid-back, Moto Azabu was as uptight as they came. While the majority of the students attending both schools, Serena herself included, were completely loaded, the people at Moto Azabu seemed more into displaying their wealth than the students at Juuban. Serena had already seen five Porches on her walk from the parking lot to the front of the school! She couldn't imagine her uptight parents ever buying her a sports car, though they could certainly afford to.

Serena straightened her regulation navy skirt and unfolded her schedule. She was supposed to be in first period English Lit class, but she had yet to find the classroom in this maze of buildings. She glanced around the outdoor campus for a friendly looking person to ask for directions, but there was no one in sight; she was doomed.

She bit her lip and continued on, determined to find her way on her own.

* * *

Darien Shields leaned casually against the brick column as his friends assembled around him, eager to catch up before their first class of the new school year. They were in their favorite spot, under the shade of one of the outdoor hallways.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" his best friend, Jed, was telling his other friend Zack as they compared classes. "AP Calculus? AP Biology? I knew you were a nerd, but come on!"

Zack shook his sandy brown head at Jed admonishingly. "Some of us actually plan on going some place after high school."

The fair-haired Jed rolled his emerald eyes at this.

"As long as he has time for practice, who cares?" Ken, who was reclining against the wall opposite Darien, interjected.

Darien, at the mention of soccer practice, jumped back into the conversation with enthusiasm. "We are going to slaughter Juuban this year!"

"Whatever you say, Captain," Jed laughed, though he could not deny the sentiment. With Darien as the team captain this year and all the practicing they had done over the summer, they would be invincible.

Life was good for the boys, as it was finally their senior year of high school and all of them intended to enjoy it as much as possible.

"Hey guys!" came a cheery and feminine voice. All four boys visibly straightened as the infamous trio of girls approached their usual spot. A brunette, a blonde, and a dark-haired girl, famous for their good looks and charm among the student body, joined their circle of friends.

The blonde flashed a flirtatious smile in the direction of Darien and batted her blue eyes. "How was your summer, Darien?"

"'Can't complain," he answered, returning her smile with his infamous lopsided grin. It was the grin that melted all the female hearts at Moto Azabu on a daily basis. Even the ever-popular Mina felt her knees weakening.

"How about you, Mina?" Ken, who had always had a thing for the blonde, inquired. Mina's eyes flashed in annoyance at his intrusion, but she launched into a long-winded explanation of her trip to Tahiti anyways.

"And you, Rei? How was your summer?" asked Jed running a hand through his blonde hair.

The raven-haired girl rolled her indigo eyes impatiently. "You practically lived at our house over the summer. There's really no point in asking." Rei Shields was known for being blunt.

He flashed her a boyish grin. "But I just love listening to your voice." Rei opened her mouth to retort, but Lita, the brunette, cut her off as she threw a questioning glance at something behind them.

"Who's that? She looks familiar."

The group turned around to watch a harassed-looking blonde meander around the courtyard, a piece of paper clutched in her hands.

"Whoever she is, she's smokin'." Rei hit Jed upside the head.

They had to admit though, the girl was exceedingly attractive. She had an undeniably goddess-like facial structure offset by cerulean blue eyes and pale blonde hair that cascaded down her back in enchanting waves. Not only that, but her legs went on for miles under her navy pleated skirt and she even managed to look good in the regulation short-sleeved white button-down.

"That's Serena Tsukino!" Mina announced, proud of the social prowess that had enabled her to properly identify the girl.

Ken narrowed his brown eyes in confusion. "You mean the Serena from Juuban? The one who's dating that pussy Damon?" The boys scowled sourly at the mention of their rival school's soccer captain.

"The very one."

"She's still hot," Jed insisted. "Don't you think so, Darien?"

Darien's ocean blue eyes drank in her sensuous form appreciatively, but he merely shrugged noncommittally. He had something of a reputation for being a player and didn't waste his time chasing after girls; he let them come after him. If she was dating his archrival, he was definitely not interested in her.

"She looks lost," Zack commented. It was true; she was wandering around in circles.

Jed ran a hand through his hair a last time before getting up from his position on the ground and flashing Rei a mischievous grin. "It looks like she needs some help." He strode off in the direction of the girl, leaving a huffing Rei in his wake.

"Are you lost?" Jed asked as he approached the flustered girl. Serena stared up at his handsome face, her blue eyes widening attractively in appreciation for his kindness.

"Is it that obvious?" she sighed. "It's my first day."

He offered her a warm smile and took a peek at her schedule. "I have English first period too. I'll walk you there." She smiled at him, elated that she had found someone decent at this foreign school. They properly introduced themselves and chatted amicably as they walked and she gathered that he was a senior on the soccer team, meaning she'd probably seen him around at some point. She told him a little bit about herself and he laughed when she mentioned where she had transferred from, though he did it good-naturedly.

"I heard you're dating Damon Diamond," he probed, green eyes darkening at the mention of their sworn enemy.

Serena blushed, feeling slightly perturbed that such an annoyance had gotten around already. "Not anymore."

"Ah," Jed smiled, "come to your senses, have you?" She laughed along with him, unable to resist his contagious smile.

When they arrived in the classroom, Serena shyly took a seat adjacent to him. The bell rang and the teacher began with the standard first-day proceedings, only to be interrupted as a devilishly handsome boy with midnight hair and a blonde shuffled into the classroom, taking the only available seats at the front. The boy flashed Jed a knowing look before he sat down. The teacher looked at the pair, but said nothing.

Serena frowned. "Do they not care about being tardy here?" she whispered to Jed. This would be a good sign, since she was prone to ignoring her alarm. It had taken all her will-power to wake up early this morning.

Jed shook his head at her. "Nah, they're usually pretty strict about that stuff, but my buddy Darien here is pretty much the golden boy of the school." He looked amused.

Serena stared at the blue-eyed boy as he leaned back arrogantly in his desk. The blonde girl who had entered the classroom with him was leaning over her desk to whisper something into his ear. She figured they were probably dating.

She looked away when her ears picked up the hushed whispers of her peers. Looking around the room in a daze, she realized that the majority of the class was staring at her. She sank into her seat, their eyes burning into her. The period seemed to drag on forever.

When it was finally over, she bid goodbye to Jed, whose schedule differed from hers for second period, and shuffled as fast as she could out of the classroom. She had known people were going to talk, but she hadn't expected to be so thoroughly scrutinized.

She craned her head down to look at the schedule in her hands. She had Biology next and had forgotten to ask Jed where the science labs were. Wonderful. She scanned the campus and her eyes fell on a girl with short blueish-black hair who was seated near the fountain in the center of the courtyard. She had a textbook propped up in her lap, which normally would have warded Serena off, but her blue eyes looked warm and friendly.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where Mr. Rochester's Biology class is?"

The girl looked up from her book with an astonished expression. "Uh, sure." She snapped her textbook closed and Serena saw that it was an AP Calculus book.

"Wow, that's some hardcore stuff," Serena commented.

The girl looked down at the glossy textbook and blushed. "It's not bad if you enjoy math." She extended a hand. "I'm Ami Mizuno."

"Serena Tsukino." Serena returned the handshake with a twitch of a smile at such a display of formality.

Ami's mouth dropped in surprise. "So you're the girl everyone's been talking about!"

Serena shrugged, embarrassed and slightly curious as to what everyone had been saying. "I guess so."

Ami walked with her, pointing out the remainder of her classrooms on the way to her Bio class and telling her about the good and bad teachers. They were just rounding the corner when Serena's body connected with a taller, harder one, sending her books crashing to the ground.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" she cried, bending over to pick up her fallen books. When she straightened, her eyes locked with a pair of hypnotizing navy ones. She immediately recognized him as the boy from class.

He cast her an annoyed glance and raked a hand through his dark hair. "Watch where you're going next time."

Serena's eyes instinctively narrowed and she huffed indignantly. "I said I was sorry. You don't have to be an asshole about it."

The boy looked taken aback at her retort and Serena heard the gasp of her friend behind her.

"She was just kidding!" Ami said, grabbing Serena's arm and pulling her away hastily.

"No I wasn't!" Serena cried as her friend tugged her away. Darien couldn't help but stare after the resisting blonde with a look akin to amusement on his handsome face.

"Serena! Do you know who that was?" Ami demanded of the furiously muttering blonde.

Serena shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah. The school's resident golden boy or something, right?"

Even Ami couldn't help but giggle at her new friend's dismissive attitude. It was somewhat refreshing to meet someone so unaffected by the hierarchies of high school. "Darien Shields is the most popular boy in school. You'd better be careful around him."

Serena frowned as if she'd tasted something sour. "I'm not afraid of him!" Her voice lowered to a slight whisper. "I'm not afraid of anyone."

Ami regarded her friend's determined and courageous face admiringly. This girl was definitely different than the rest.

* * *

Mina Aino, joined by her two best friends, slid into the empty seats opposite a quartet of rowdy boys.

"Hello, gorgeous," Ken greeted her with a flirtatious smile, which Mina politely returned with a flip of her blonde hair.

The girls brought out their immaculately packaged lunches of hand-rolled sushi and stared disgustedly at the myriad of packaged and processed foods piled in a heap in front of the soccer players.

"I still don't understand where you guys put it all," Lita commented as she broke apart her chopsticks.

"Agreed," Rei said, popping a California roll into her mouth and trying not to gag as Zack dumped a cluster of chips onto his already mile-high sandwich.

They launched into an easy conversation about the happenings of the day, laughing breezily at the boys' jokes. It seemed as if nothing had changes since last year.

"Hey, Serena!" Jed called to the petite blonde who was walking, tray in hand, with a mousy-looking girl to a table in the corner. Mina watched as Darien's dark head, which had previously been resting lazily on his fist, shot up.

She watched as the girl flashed Jed a dazzling grin before sauntering off with her friend and Mina's eyebrows visibly rose when she caught sight of the dazed look on Darien's face. She subtly gave him an "accidental" kick with her pointed heels. His eyes came back into focus and she shot him an apologetic grin.

"I can't believe you're actually friends with her," Mina huffed at Jed.

Rei nodded her glossy black head in agreement. "Seriously! She's total Juuban scum! Not to mention she's the girlfriend of a complete tool!"

Lita shot her friend a disapproving glare, but Rei shrugged as if she couldn't help it.

Jed shook his head at her in mock-amusement. "Jealous, Rei?"

"As if!" The glare she shot him could melt ice.

He merely grinned at their exchange before leaping into the defense of his new friend. "Serena's cool and for your information, she dumped Damon a long time ago."

"So she's single?" piped Zack with a roguish grin. Darien flashed him an icy glare, which he mistook for contempt and continued, "What, man? Who cares where she went to school? She's property of Moto Azabu now."

"Yeah," Lita cut in hastily. "Who cares?" In an attempt to drop the subject, Lita enquired about the upcoming soccer season and before long the conversation was forgotten. Though Darien joined in the conversation enthusiastically, Mina couldn't help but notice how his penetrating gaze would occasionally stray to the table in the corner.

* * *

"He's staring at you again," Ami declared as she nibbled on her apple. Serena's gaze got wide with excitement and her eyes darted across the cafeteria to the table of handsome boys.

"He is?"

Ami stared at her, amused. "Yep. Either you have something on your face, or he has a thing for you."

Serena's blonde head bounced excitedly. "Oh, Ami! You really think so?" She took a generous bite of her hamburger before continuing to swoon. "He's so sweet and funny! And those green eyes!"

Ami frowned in confusion. Darien definitely didn't have green eyes. "Uh, Serena? Who are you talking about?"

The blonde looked abashed. "I was talking about Jed, who were you talking about?"

Ami's eyebrows shot up her forehead. This was definitely not the response she had expected. "I was talking about Darien!"

"Darien?" Serena made a sour face. "He's probably just making fun of me. The jerk!"

She tore into her hamburger with a renewed ruthlessness and Ami couldn't help but be impressed by the girl's ravenous appetite. None of the girls at Moto Azabu would have touched the food on Serena's heavily piled tray with a stick. It was nice to meet someone who actually ate normal food.

"So you like Jed?"

A rosy blush crawled up Serena's cheeks and she unsuccessfully willed it to disappear. "I don't know him _that _well, but so far he's been really nice."

Ami tactfully let the subject drop and tried to steer the subject towards something less controversial, like the school's first soccer game. Ami was never much of a sports fan, but Serena eventually cajoled Ami into promising to attend the game with her. Life at Moto Azabu was suddenly beginning to get a whole lot more interesting...

* * *

Beryl Stone allowed her shoes to make an exaggerated 'click' sound against the pavement as she made her way over to the group of youths reclining under the shade of the school's biggest oak tree.

"Oh, hi Beryl," the red-headed girl, Molly, said unenthusiastically. Beryl eyed her with a look of contempt before settling herself down next to the fair-haired boy who was toying with a blade of grass.

"What's up, Damon?" The boy's steel gray eyes barely acknowledged her presence, causing Beryl to scowl unhappily.

"Careful, Beryl, your face might get stuck like that," quipped the dark-haired boy to the right of Damon, who had been tossing a dusty-looking soccer ball in the air and catching it ad-nauseam. Nick, the brown haired, one stifled a laugh.

"Very funny, Seiya."

A silence fell over the group, leaving Molly ample opportunity to emit an exaggerated sigh. "I miss Serena!"

Seiya peered uncertainly at Damon, who had begun to grip the grass he had previously been toying with. "I miss her too," he admitted.

"Well I don't!" Beryl sniffed haughtily. It had been one glorious week of school without the infamous blonde and Beryl couldn't get enough of it. _Finally_, people were starting to pay attention to her instead of the enigmatic Serena. If only she could get the stubborn Damon to look at her like he used to look at Serena, then things would be perfect.

Molly chose to ignore Beryl's outburst. "I'm coming with her to Moto Azabu's first home game this Friday. Anyone wanna come?" She waggled her eyebrows in Seiya's direction jokingly.

"Are you kidding me? You're going to a Moto Azabu game? _Y tu, Brutus_?" Beryl seethed.

Seiya rolled his eyes. "I think you mean '_Et tu, Brute_?'"

"Whatever."

"I'll go." All four of them whipped their heads around to stare at Damon who was leaning against the tree with a grin on his face.

"Uh...are you sure that's a good idea?" Nick questioned warily.

"Why not?" Damon asked. "It'd be a good chance to scope out our competition, not to mention catch up with our pal Serena."

"Sounds fun!" Beryl exclaimed. Both Molly and Seiya stared at her impassively, the blatant hypocrisy of her statement rendering them temporarily speechless.

Nick hesitantly agreed to go and their gazes then fell upon Seiya. He sighed.

"I guess if everyone else is going, I'll make an appearance." Molly clapped, elated. However, her excitement quickly dissolved into apprehension when she thought of what Serena would say when she found out her ex-boyfriend, not to mention Beryl, would be coming. She gulped and prayed that her blonde friend would understand.

* * *

"Ouch!" Serena exclaimed for the sixth time as a volleyball slammed into her thigh.

"Sorry!" Mina Aino called out from the other side of the net as she exchanged glances with her teammate, Rei. Funny, with her upturned lips and smirking eyes she certainly didn't _seem_ sorry.

"Not a problem," Serena grumbled, stepping back into formation. Her all-girls athletic class was beginning to be the bane of her existence. It was glaringly obvious that the blonde-haired senior had something against her. Had Mina not been the captain of the volleyball team, Serena wouldn't have cared, but after being hit by her well-executed spikes all week, she knew something had to be done.

Rei served the ball and it lobbed over the net, only to be hit back expertly by Lita, who was on Serena's team. They managed to rally for a short time before Rei set up a spike and Mina sent the ball hurling towards Serena's vicinity. Before she had a chance to blink, the ball made contact with her left arm with a splitting 'pop'.

"Oops!" Mina called, feigning innocence as she clasped a hand over her mouth.

Alarm bells were going off in Serena's head, but rather than listening to the wiser part of her brain that was telling her to take the high road; she grabbed the volleyball off of the floor and ducked under the net, so that she was on their side of the court.

"Do you have a problem with me?" Serena demanded, glaring up the older girl, who seemed to tower over her.

"Of course not!" Mina replied, voice sickeningly sweet. "You just seem to have a knack for getting in my way. Sorry."

Serena ignored Rei's snort of laughter and took a deep breath, struggling to restrain herself from ripping that obnoxious red bow from the girl's blonde head. "Maybe if you stopped trying to peg me with the ball and actually played the game, you wouldn't have to apologize every five seconds."

Mina's cornflower blue eyes flashed vehemently, but Serena was quick to halt her imminent comeback. With an excessive amount of force, she took thrust the volleyball into Mina's arms before turning on her heel and walking back to her side of the court.

"You okay?" Lita asked, green eyes sympathetic.

Serena nodded warmly at the girl. "Thanks for asking."

Lita averted her eyes and simply nodded in response. Serena sighed at this, knowing full well that all her hopes of finishing out high school in peace were dashed.

When she proceeded to tell Ami about the "volleyball incident" the girl got very quiet and eyed her warily.

"You seem to be making all the wrong enemies," she finally said. Serena agreed exasperatedly as they reclined in their usual spot by the fountain. Ami craned her neck, allowing her eyes to catch a glimpse of notorious group of girls and their respective guy friends, who were in _their_ usual spot against the brick wall. "Seriously, Mina is not someone you want on your bad side.

"Too late!" Serena grumbled. Her eyes followed Ami's and she gazed longingly at the golden haired boy who was cracking up at something the ever-annoying Darien had said. They had hung out occasionally, but she seemed to be seeing less and less of him lately.

Serena turned away from them and faced Ami. "Want to come over after school to get ready for the big game?"

"I don't know...I really wanted to finish my calculus homework."

Serena bounced on her toes and widened her big blue eyes persuasively. "Please? Molly's going to do our makeup and we will look fabulous!"

Ami frowned at this. Getting all dolled up for a soccer game seemed a little excessive to her, but the pleading look on her friend's face was enough to win her over.

"Fine, I'll come!"

Serena squealed happily and performed an excited jig around her before settling back onto her butt.

* * *

"Serena?" Ami asked apprehensively. "Are you sure this looks okay?" She was standing in front of Serena's full length mirror and tugging at her denim skirt with disdain. How was she supposed to sit in the thing?

"You look great!" Serena's friend Molly cooed from her spot on Serena's bed where she was doing the finishing touches on Serena's makeup. When Molly announced that her masterpiece was complete, Serena got up from the bed to join Ami at the mirror.

Even Ami had to admit the blonde looked fantastic. Her tight, micro-mini skirt made her already long legs seem endless and her Moto Azabu t-shirt rode up a little, exposing her flawlessly tight stomach. Best of all was her hair, which was loose over her shoulders and accentuated by a bejeweled hair clip.

Serena examined her subtly shaded eyes and glossed lips appreciatively. "Thanks, Molly!" She took a deep breath before slipping her shoes on and joining her friends as they made their way towards Molly's car.

As they pulled up to the school, determination whizzed through Serena's veins. She was going to win Jed over tonight, she swore. He would never know what had hit him.

* * *

To be continued....

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

Alright so how was it? Constructive criticism, comments, suggestions, or anything else you want to throw at me would be greatly appreciated. Please review or PM me or email me at xtropicalcrush(at)aim(dot)com. Looking forward to seeing if this should be continued....


	2. A Fight and A Friendship

The Lies We Tell

* * *

_Note:_

Alright, I'll admit I felt incredibly under whelmed at the response I received for the first chapter. Especially for the amount of views I got. However, I decided to continue on with this story anyways, since I have so many ideas for it. This chapter took longer than it should have to come out, and it's a little short, but it was necessary. Enjoy! Oh, by the way, I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but there is some mild language in the fic....sorry.

* * *

Chapter Two: A Fight and A Friendship

* * *

Mina was thoroughly annoyed. The roar of the crowd was causing her ears to ring, her denim short shorts were uncomfortably tight, and she was pretty sure her exposed legs had accumulated at least five mosquito bites already. She tipped her head to the side in an attempt to appear interested in what the gaggle of guys in front of her was going on about. It helped that Lita and Rei were at her side, making polite conversation with their admirers whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on the soccer game. Normally, Mina thrived under attention and basked in all of its golden glory. Tonight, however, she was simply irritated.

Though she was known for being a spontaneous flirt, she secretly craved routine. Engaging in before-school conversation with her friends in the courtyard every morning, sipping scalding hot lattés with the girls after particularly hard nights of partying, getting drunk at Rei's house and stealing the golf carts from the country club, sunning herself on the roof of Lita's penthouse apartment, and receiving vast amounts of praise from her loyal subjects was all a part of her personal routine.

However, since school had reconvened, things had swiftly begun to change. Mina loathed change. She took a deep breath to compose herself. It was her senior year in high school; she refused to spend it moping around like some whiny emo. She put two fingers to her mouth and let out a supportive whistle as Darien scored his second goal of the night.

"I've always wanted to be able to do that," the boy in front of her was saying as his eyes traveled appreciatively down her lengthy form. She resisted the urge to roll her baby blues in disgust. Some guys were just so predictable.

"What can I say? I'm very talented." She made sure to put extra emphasis on the word 'talented' and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as the boy's eyes became glazed. She scanned the crowd for a quick distraction and her eyes fell upon a cluster of eerily familiar youths. She knew she had seen the two boys, one dark-haired and the other with sandy brown hair, and the auburn haired girl before. It was the appearance of the fair-haired boy that had her gasping.

"Is that Damon Diamond?" Lita asked, pinpointing the direction of her gaze.

Rei nodded. "Oh, that's definitely him. It looks like that skank Beryl's with him too."

"He looks drunk." It was true; Damon's grey eyes appeared unfocused and his steps seemed heavier than normal.

Mina practically spat, "Maybe he's here to see Serena." Their eyes darted towards the radiating blonde occupying the front row of bleachers a few feet away. Serena was chatting excitedly with a cluster of people, primarily guys, who normally would have flocked to _them_. It was almost unnerving how quickly her admirers could stray. What was even more unnerving was the way Darien kept shooting her glances from the field to see if she was watching. Mina's lips curled into a devious smile.

"Oh no," Lita joked, "I know that look. That look means trouble."

Mina feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but if you'll excuse me I think I will go catch up with an old friend."

* * *

"And the game goes to the Moto Azabu Falcons!"

Furiously enthusiastic cheers, coupled with the sound of the crowd stampeding onto the field to congratulate the players flooded Serena's ears as she threaded her way through the throngs of people to the players' bench. Due to her petite stature, she was able to maneuver her way through the crowd with ease, but had effectively lost sight of both Molly and Ami in the process.

"Serena! You came!" Jed was wearing a triumphant grin, his hair slicked with hard-earned perspiration. He gave her legs a cursory glance. "And you look good enough to eat too."

"Flirt!" Serena admonished, hiding her blush as the rest of the guys, headed by Darien approached them.

"Hey, Serena," Ken greeted smoothly.

"Hey yourself," Serena answered flirtatiously, throwing in a wink for good measure. They laughed at her outlandish antics.

"So, come to get an autograph have you?" Zack asked, flexing a muscle playfully.

"Yes, actually. Do you think you could get Massadori to sign one for me?" She inquired, referring to the team's gangly water boy with a grin.

"Ouch!" They laughed and clapped Zack on the back sympathetically.

"So how was our game? Better than Juuban's?" Jed inqured roguishly.

"We'll have to see about that..."

"See about what?" His deep voice reverberated through her and made her knees feel eerily weak. She averted her eyes from his midnight gaze.

"I've just been comparing notes with Serena about our biggest rival."

The corner of Darien's mouth twitched upwards into a boyish half-smile. Serena suddenly felt exceedingly irritated at him for the sudden sputtering that erupted in her chest at the sight of such a dashing smile.

"Is that so? Well what's the verdict?"

"She appears to be undecided," Jed proclaimed.

"_She_ can speak for herself," Serena remarked, hitting his shoulder playfully. He stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation and she giggled at his immature tactics. The exchange did not go unnoticed by Darien, who was studying Serena with an inscrutable expression on his face.

"Feisty, isn't she?" he asked, navy eyes dancing with an intense fire that scorched her soul. With a wicked glint in her eyes, Serena made a fist and was winding up for a punch when Darien caught her wrist in his hand. "Not so fast, little bunny."

She pouted in defeat. "You guys are so mean."

Jed chuckled. "But you love us anyways!"

Their banter was interrupted at the appearance of Mina and Rei slinking over to where they were congregating. Mina looked particularly pleased with herself, the corners of her mouth twisted upwards as if she held the world's biggest secret.

"Hey, Rei." Jed's face lit up at the appearance of the darker haired girl, who was fanning herself with one of their laminated soccer schedules, much to the delight of the males around her.

"Good game," Mina said as she stood on her tip-toes to search the crowd around her. Yes, it would happen any second now. Despite things working out in her favor for once, Mina couldn't help but feel hopelessly drab standing next to Serena. The girl seemed to radiate life and vitality with her wild mane of pale blonde hair and big doe eyes. Mina's baby blues seemed pale and faded compared to Serena's deep cerulean ones.

"Serena?"

The group turned and Mina watched in delight as Serena's eyes got big – real big – and her mouth dropped open surprise.

"Er...hi, Damon."

He ignored her greeting and practically growled, "Why is everyone saying you and Shields are going out?"

Darien's raven head shot up at this sudden proclamation. "What?"

Serena was outraged. "We are so NOT going out."

"Even if we were, what's it to you?" Darien challenged, annoyed at his rival's arrogance. Serena shot him a look of warning, but it was too late. Before she could blink, Damon's fist connected with Darien's jaw.

"Fuck!" Taken completely by surprise, Darien's hand flew to his wounded jaw and then to Damon's smirk. "Bad move, buddy."

With adept swiftness, Darien's fist collided with Damon's stomach, sending the youth to ground. It wasn't long before the two were beating the life out of each other in a flurry of limbs and punches.

"Knock it off!" Rei demanded, but they paid no attention to her. A crowd had gathered and was cheering them on ruthlessly. Recovering from their initial shock, Jed, Ken, and Zack leapt into action, grabbing Damon by the scruff of his shirt and hauling him away from Darien. Mina looked on in amusement.

Serena, on the other hand, looked on in horror as Darien wiped a trickle of blood from his jaw. She stayed rooted in place, even as Seiya and Beryl breathlessly came to claim their fallen leader, Seiya casting apologetic glances in Serena's direction.

As they dragged Damon off, Serena snapped out of her reverie and addressed Darien. "Are you okay?"

He chuckled darkly at her concern. "I'm fine. He just caught me by surprise, the bastard."

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault." She instinctively placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to show her commiseration.

His eyes looked down at her hand in surprise. "Uh, it's fine. Really."

Her face broke out into a relieved smile, one that stretched widely across her face and exposed her dimples. A dazed look passed over Darien's handsome features.

"I'm glad." She grabbed both Darien and Jed's arms and propelled them forward. "Victory milkshakes on me!"

* * *

As Serena and Ami tentatively made their way to Jed's lunch table, they noticed that Mina and Rei were conveniently absent. Lita, however, was absentmindedly spearing the piece of lettuce in her salad and staring off into space with a dazed look on her face.

"Right here, Serena!" Darien said, patting his lap with a smirk. They had forged a friendship since the infamous fight incident, but he never passed up the chance to flirt shamelessly with her.

She rolled her eyes at him and set her tray down, motioning for the hesitant Ami to follow suit. Ami cast nervous glances at the boys, who were making a show of throwing various food items into each other's mouths.

"Hole in one!" Ken proclaimed victoriously as Zack nearly choked on the tator tot that was now lodged in his throat.

Serena bit back a laugh and feigned seriousness. "You really should learn to chew your food, Zack."

Zack gave her an exasperated look, before resuming choking and the table burst out laughing. Without looking up from her food, Lita clapped him on the back and the offensive tator tot shot into the air, landing with a resolute splat on the back of the Melvin, the class nerd's, head.

Serena's shoulders shook with repressed laugher, but Jed was the first to crack, and soon enough their entire table was doubling over with hysterics.

"What's so funny?" Mina and Rei were standing before them with looks that could kill.

"Melvin got a taste of Zack's tator tots is all," Darien laughed, missing their death glares.

Serena fidgeted in her seat as Mina and Rei took their place by Lita's side, pointedly ignoring her and Ami.

"So who's going to the brunch on Saturday?" Mina asked, twisting open her sparkling water with a flourish and smiling purposefully at Lita.

Catching her look, Lita grudgingly answered, "I'll be there, okay?" Serena furrowed her brow, confused as to what was going on between the girls.

Satisfied, Mina took a sip of the bubbly concoction and turned her gaze to the rest of them, save Ami and Serena, who all admitted to being cajoled by their parents into attending. The annual Moto Azabu brunch, held by the school's most prominent of parents, was a tradition that had been around practically since the school's founding. Naturally, it was being held at the house of most renowned family on the school board; the Shields.

Serena wrinkled her nose. "Are you guys talking about that school party thing for Moto Azabu families?" Her parents had mentioned it in passing and she hadn't failed to bemoan how stuffy she presumed it would be.

"I take it you're planning on gracing us with your presence then?" Darien grinned.

"I suppose so, if my parents have anything to do with it." She didn't miss the irritated looks that Rei and Mina failed to conceal. Ignoring them, she turned to Ami. "Are you goes, Ames?"

The girl shook her head. "I'm spending the weekend with my dad in Germany."

Serena didn't bother to hide her disappointment. While it was true Jed would be there, it was also true that she would be in _Rei'_s house. She sighed as pictures of the two girls trapping her in some elaborate dungeon –the Shield's mansion was rumored to be quite enormous – while her classmates mingled unsuspectingly upstairs flashed through her mind.

"Don't look so excited," Jed commented dryly, "It's not so bad. You actually might have fun."

* * *

Rei lay sprawled out on Mina's satin duvet, idly flipping through a fashion magazine and tapping her foot to the beat of the cheesy pop song that was blaring from Mina's speakers. Mina was reclining on the loveseat in the corner, texting and irritably directing her maid towards the piles of clothes littering the plush carpet with a flick of her wrist.

Mina snapped her phone shut and emitted a melodramatic sigh. "I need to get drunk. Really, really drunk."

Rei looked up from her magazine, eyebrows raised. "It's only four o' clock," she said wryly. Though she'd never question her friend out loud, she suspected Mina's behavior was due to the sudden closeness between Serena and Darien.

Mina disregarded this and floated around her spacious room, sliding on a pair of bright red sunglasses that had been lying on her dresser. "Actually, I think we should have a party."

Rei set down her magazine and propped her head up with her elbows. "Yeah?"

Mina nodded, doing a jovial spin in time with the music and plopping back down on the couch. "A pool party. And I know just who to invite."

"I'm game." Rei's indigo eyes sparkled intriguingly.

"If only Lita was here. This is her second doctor's appointment this week," Mina continued, leaning back against the loveseat and giving an appreciative smile to her maid, who had set down a tray of freshly mixed martinis.

"Whatever. We'll see her at the brunch tomorrow," Rei said, leaning over and popping an olive into her mouth. "Who are we inviting anyways?"

Mina took a sip of her drink. "I have a few people in mind..."

Rei's dark brows rose and Mina simply smiled, downing the rest of her drink and setting it down on the tray with finality.

"Oh, you're going to _love_ this."

* * *

Serena was not having fun. She had realized far too late that the white silk skirt she had donned was much too short for a family brunch and had taken to self-consciously tugging it down every five seconds. On top of that, her parents were going on ad nausea about colleges and business and it was driving her crazy. Before she pulled out her carefully pinned hair in annoyance, she excused herself from the table and walked out into the marbled hallways.

The Shields Mansion was all that it was rumored to be and more. The walls were accented by expensive looking paintings — Serena was sure that she had seen a Monet – and she could see perfectly manicured gardens and an infinity pool from the French windows she had just passed by. Her own house was exceptionally lavish, with its modern furnishings and sleek architecture, but this estate was almost ostentatiously luxurious.

As she made her way down the never ending hallway in search of the bathroom, Serena realized that she was lost. There were so many doors; she wasn't quite sure which one she had originally come from. This worried her, as she highly suspected that the house was so big, it would take days for someone to stumble upon her. She almost found herself wishing she hadn't left the party, boring as it had been. Sure, she had been subjected to suffer the suspiciously warm smiles of both Rei and Mina as they preened in the corner of the room under the gazes of their many admirers, but at least she had been near civilization. She suddenly regretted ever leaving the large dinning hall. Jed, Darien, and the boys hadn't been at the brunch yet, so they would surely be there by now.

Biting her lip, Serena opened the nearest door and nearly had a heart attack when she saw Darien, half dressed and sleeping, on the edge of a large navy covered bed. Her eyes got impossibly wide and she went to close the door when his dark haired head bolted up and stared at her dazedly.

"Serena? Am I dreaming?" He smirked. His voice was deep and raspy and even Serena had to admit he looked especially dashing with his jet black hair tousled from sleep.

"Yes, this is all a dream. When you open your eyes I will magically disappear." She returned to her original task of closing the door.

"Wait." He rolled off the bed and Serena couldn't help but ogle at the boy's perfectly sculpted six pack and well muscled biceps. He was the perfect mix of lean and muscled and Serena's mouth went dry at the thought of running her finger down such perfection. "How'd you get here?"

Serena's cheeks turned a guilty shade of red at her previous thoughts before she answered. "I was looking for a bathroom."

"Oh." He peered curiously at her face. "Why are you so red?" When she didn't answer, he glanced down at his bare chest as if he just realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and grinned cheekily at her. "Seen something you like?"

"Of course not!" She huffed indignantly, though she knew it was a lie. She turned towards the door to leave, but she realized she had no idea where to go.

He seemed to notice her helpless glance and chuckled deeply at her distress. "I'll take you back to the party, don't worry. Just let me find a shirt."

Relieved, she plopped down onto his bed as he rooted through his drawers in search of a shirt. He glanced back at her reclining form and smiled. "Comfortable?"

"Very," she answered, snuggling into on of his plush pillows. When he wasn't looking, she pressed her face into it and breathed in deeply. The scent was clean and boyish and intoxicatingly Darien. Though she knew she liked Jed, she had to admit the boy was naturally good-smelling.

Darien retrieved a white button down and sat down on the bed next to her as he began the task of buttoning it up.

"Why are you smirking?" Serena asked suspiciously.

Darien smiled mischievously at her. "I won't taint your innocent little mind, but let's just say that it has something to do with the fact that you're in my bed."

Serena's mouth dropped and she was suddenly aware that her too-short skirt had ridden up a little, revealing a scandalous amount of thigh. She hastily pulled it down, ignoring his sudden interest in her legs.

Annoyed that he had persisted in getting the best of her yet again, she donned a devious smile and leaned in close to him to button up the remainder of his buttons, making sure to brush her fingers across his skin at regular intervals. She heard his breath hitch and she grinned victoriously before leaning backwards again.

She saw his dark eyes flash and in an instant his warm hands were on her wrists and he had pinned her down onto the bed so that he was leaning overtop of her triumphantly.

"Lesson number one, little bunny: Never underestimate your opponent."

Serena was all too aware of the way her heart was pounding and her brain had gone fuzzy, but she was never one to be outdone. Rolling them over so that she was now on top and more or less straddling his waist, she returned his smirk. "Seems you should take your own advice."

Their faces were inches apart and their gazes were heated. Serena could feel his hot, sweet-smelling breath on her face and she was almost positive he could hear her heart thrashing dramatically in her chest.

"Am I interrupting something?" a wry voice questioned from the doorway. They looked up to Rei, a dark brow quirked as she stared at them in amusement. Serena, realizing how compromising their position looked, rolled off Darien with a blush.

"No. I was just about to leave."

"Uh huh," Rei said, sounding as if she didn't believe them. It didn't help that Darien was grinning unabashedly as he got up from the bed. Rei directed her gaze towards Darien. "Well Mom has been wondering where you've been. Should I tell her you're busy?"

Serena glared icily at him in an attempt to dispel any ideas he might have formed at the question. "No. Let's go."

The trio walked back to the party in silence, though Rei seemed to be acting friendlier to her, which confused Serena further. Shouldn't she be mad at catching her and Darien in such a compromising position? It didn't make any sense.

When they finally managed to return to the party unscathed, the brunch seemed to be in full swing. The parents were intermingling and the students had separated into their respective cliques, chatting amiably as they dug into the gourmet food the Shields' chef had prepared. Serena hesitantly followed the siblings to the table where Mina, Lita, and the boys were sitting.

Mina, who had been nibbling on a scone, dropped the pastry and offered her a warm smile. "We were wondering where you went off to. Have a scone." A plate of buttery scones was thrust in front of her and Serena obediently took one.

"So, Serena," Mina began, her voice sickeningly sweet, "I was wondering if you wanted to come to a party of mine."

Serena nearly choked on her bite of scone. "Umm...sure."

Mina's face broke out into a smile. "Great! It's a pool party, so wear a swimsuit." She directed the last statement to the entire group.

"Sweet," Jed remarked, "I love pool parties. All those girls in bikinis..." He exchanged high-fives with Darien.

"Can I bring Ami?" Serena asked, her lips twitching in amusement at the concerned glances Mina and Rei cast one another.

"Sure," Mina answered pasting another alarmingly wide smile on her face. Serena grinned, feeling victorious. Though she felt unsure about the girls' sudden friendliness toward her, she reveled in the success of securing her friend an invitation to the party. With Ami at her side, the party wouldn't be _that _bad.

Heck, it might even be _fun._

_

* * *

  
_

To be continued...

* * *

_Notes:_

Well? It wasn't entirely action-packed, but don't worry, things are about to get a whole lot juicier. Tell me what you think! If you guys harass me enough, I promise to get the next chapter done by the end of the week ;)

Next time: a pool party, a steamy kiss, and a plot!

Review, my darlings.


	3. The Party and the Aftermath

The Lies We Tell

* * *

_Note:_

I just wanted to say thank you guys SO much for all of the encouraging reviews. I especially enjoyed the ones where you got into the story. Anyways, as promised here's the next chapter. :)

* * *

Chapter Three: The Party and the Aftermath

* * *

Damon Diamond swirled a glass brimming with amber-colored liquid in one hand and used the other to prop up his drooping head.

"Are you aiming to be perpetually drunk?" Seiya, who was reclining on the adjacent leather couch asked whilst exchanging concerned glances with Nick, who was busying himself with watching the game on Damon's flat screen.

His question fell on deaf ears as Damon took another swig of the golden liquid, nearly shuddering as the drink slid in a fiery trail down his throat. It had been a week since he had brazenly punched Darien Shields at the MAA game and he still couldn't think about the incident without wanting to break something, or rather _someone_. Even the prospect of demolishing him on the soccer field didn't satiate his desire for revenge. The city's golden boy needed to be destroyed and he vowed to be the one to do it. Various methods of extracting his revenge flashed through his mind, but he was unable to commit to any of them.

His thoughts strayed to a certain petite blonde, and he took another sip of his drink. He hadn't missed the protective vibes emanating from Shields when he'd confronted them at the game. He was definitely into Serena, that much was obvious. It wasn't even instinct that told him that. The Shields' were practically celebrities in the city, so it hadn't taken long for rumors to circulate that Darien Shields was warm for Serena Tsukino's form. He gripped his crystal glass with a grip that hurt as thoughts of Darien and the blonde overtook him. He refused to let Serena make a fool of him yet again.

"I'm outta here," Nick declared, casting a secretive glance at a message on his cell phone before excusing himself from Damon's home, leaving Seiya staring after him suspiciously.

"He's been acting strange lately, yeah?" When Damon gave a noncommittal shrug in response, Seiya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Still moping about Serena?"

The fiery glare Damon shot him was impressively sharp, given the fact that he was inebriated. "Last I remember, I wasn't the only one moping about Serena Tsukino."

Seiya's eyes hardened and he looked away from his intoxicated friend, his lips forming one tight line. "I thought we agreed not to resurrect the past."

"That doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"Are we really going to get into this again?" Frustrated, Seiya grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch and gave his friend a forced farewell before walking out the door and into the crisp evening air.

It was just after five and the sun was beginning to show signs of setting. With an entire Saturday night now free of obligations, he dialed Nick's number, intending to find out exactly where the sly devil had disappeared off to.

When the voicemail picked up, Seiya shoved his phone dejectedly into his pocket and motioned for his driver to bring the car around. Suddenly, he was in need of drink—and a strong one at that.

* * *

"Come on, Ami!" Serena groaned, dragging her friend, who was gazing longingly at the row of bushes as if she wanted to hide behind them, by the arm. The pulsating sounds of music could be heard from the large, modern-looking house as they followed the stone pathway to where the party was in full swing.

As they drank in the flashing neon lights reflecting off the largest pool Serena had ever seen, she grudgingly had to admit that Mina Aino definitely knew how to throw a party.

There was a bar in the corner serving tropical drinks and the place was littered with swimsuit-clad youths, dancing to the throbbing music or socializing in the steaming hot tub. Next to the bar was a station with a personal sushi chef who was dolling out customized platters. Serena could see a cave-like grotto covering the right end of the pool that seemed to be the designated make-out spot.

"Are you sure you don't want to just call it a night and have an HBO marathon at my place?" Ami asked, sidestepping an obviously drunk boy before he spilt his drink down her front.

Serena gave her signature tinkling laugh before grabbing two drinks from the bar and handing one rather forcefully to her friend. "Relax, Ames! This is going to be fun. Stop worrying and let yourself live a little!"

Ami gave the fruity, umbrella-adorned drink a perplexed glance before taking a tentative sip. She felt the cool drink slide down her throat and tickle her toes. Serena smiled encouragingly and waggled her hips in time to the thumping bass, attracting all kinds of attention from her peers.

It wasn't surprising that the eyes of half of the party were on her blonde friend. Even Ami had the squelch the rising feelings of inadequacy that came with standing next to Serena in her plain blue one piece. Serena looked like perfection personified in her red bikini, her golden body sinfully shiny and curved in all the right places. Next to her enviably long legs and her halo of golden-blonde hair, Ami felt gangly and dorky.

"Tonight's the night," Serena declared, attempting in vain to smooth her wild blonde hair away from her face.

"The night for what?" Ami asked, her head feeling a little fuzzy from her drink.

"The night I finally kiss Jed!"

Ami failed to hide her surprise, glancing warily at the half-full drink in her blonde friend's tiny hand. "Maybe you should stay away from the alcohol..."

"I'm serious, Ami!" To further illustrate her point, she handed her half finished drink to the person behind her and looked earnestly at her. "I'm sick of waiting around for him to make a move. I'm taking the initiative this time!"

Looking into her friend's hopelessly determined blue eyes, Ami didn't have the heart to set her straight. "Well...good luck."

Serena's face lit up at this reluctant bit of encouragement and she stood on her tiptoes to scan the crowd for her alleged crush. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his mass of golden hair and she noted with a slight twinge of envy that he was conversing rather amiably with Mina and Rei, who looked fabulous in their matching gold bikinis and shimmering gold hair streaks.

She briefly took a moment to gather her courage and began weaving through the crowd to get to them. As a dancing couple shimmied right into her, she found herself teetering on her platform flip flops and colliding into a hard and bare chest.

"Oops. Sorry," she rasped out, voice strained with repressed laughter. She kept her head down so he couldn't see her lip twitching.

"Ah, I should have known." Surprised, Serena looked up into the familiar twilight eyes of none other than Darien Shields.

"Oh. If I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have bothered with an apology." Her eyes were shining with mirth.

Darien tweaked her nose, his sensual lips upturned with amusement. "Very funny, buns."

She smiled faintly in response, unable to tear her eyes away from his god-like form. His black swim trunks were slung dangerously low on his hips and the muscles on his stomach rippled as he exhaled. She gave her head a severe shake and glanced around again for Jed, hoping to rid her mind of images of running her hand down Darien's exquisite body. She frowned when she noticed he was no longer standing by the pool.

"Do you know where Jed went?"

Darien's brow furrowed in frustration and he grudgingly replied, "No. Why?"

Serena shrugged evasively. "I need to tell him something." His jaw clenched and his navy eyes looked almost angry, which confused her. She decided to leave him to his random burst of anger. "I'm going to go find him. I'll catch you later."

She squeezed her way through the gyrating couples and nearly did a double take when she saw Mina approaching with a friendly smile on her face.

"Serena, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Oh," she replied awkwardly, "well...here I am."

"I'm so glad!" She clasped her arm firmly – almost as if she were afraid Serena was going to make a break for it – and steered her towards the double doors to the house. "Let me give you the grand tour!"

Serena felt nervous for some reason, the vice-like grip Mina had on her arm lending to her sudden anxiety. "Well...okay." It seemed weird for her to want to show her around. Did she do that to every guest?

Mina's eyes darted around wildly, almost as if she were stalling. "Let's start with the foyer..."

* * *

Ami sighed and searched in vain for any sign of Serena. She took another sip of her drink and gazed self-consciously at the people around her. Serena had advised her to "live a little", but the craziest thing that had happened to her all night had been having a drunken boy pass out in her lap. She had kindly slid his head so that it was resting against the wall and that had been the end of their exchange. She needed to do something that would make her feel less lame.

Feeling braver from the alcohol that was surging through her blood, Ami made her way over to a familiar-looking group of people, friends of Serena's, and attempted to partake in a casual conversation.

Lita, also in a gold swim suit, stood laughing at something Zack and Ken were going on about, giving Ami a perfect opportunity to cut in. "What's so funny?"

They looked at her with surprised-etched faces and Ken politely relayed the story of how trashed they had gotten at one party of another, to which Ami forced a giggle at. Personally, she couldn't see what was so funny about getting smashed and acting stupid.

Lita, smiling politely at them, excused herself to the bathroom, leaving Ami with the two boys, something she hadn't anticipated.

"So, Ami," Zack began, breaking the science, "what did you get on that killer Calculus exam on Friday?"

Ami frowned, disheartened that they had to resort to talking about school in order to carry on a conversation. They were at a party, for crying out loud! "A ninety-four," she answered modestly. His eyebrows rose, impressed, and Ami couldn't help but feel proud. The feeling was quickly replaced with one of uncertainty. Is that how everyone thought of her, as a hopeless nerd who thought only of school?

Determination seizing her, she gestured to the dance floor. "Do you want to dance?"

Zack, casting a look at Ken, scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Er...I was about to go grab a beer, but maybe later."

Ami bit her lip, hating the all-consuming feeling of disappointment that coursed through her at his rejection. She mumbled a weak, "See you later," and turned to resume her search for Serena. That HBO marathon was suddenly looking more appealing than ever.

* * *

"What did you want to talk about?" Jed asked, glancing nervously at Rei as she led him down a hallway past a row of doors.

Rei said nothing, giving his arm a fierce tug as they finally arrived at Mina's room. She pulled him into the cavernous room and shut the door behind them, giving him a sly smile all the while. Jed looked confused, but not displeased.

Setting him down rather forcefully into Mina's favorite orange loveseat, her eyes glinted wickedly before she leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"I think it would be better if we didn't talk at all."

* * *

Serena suppressed a groan as Mina led her down yet another hallway with a myriad of doors leading to God knows where.

"Let me show you my room!"

Forced by Mina's steel-like grip on her arm into compliance, Serena allowed the girl to pull her down the never-ending hallway to the door at the very end.

Noticing a light on under the door, Serena said warily, "I think there's someone in there."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Mina exclaimed, batting the air exaggeratedly with her palm. She wrenched open the door and Serena stared on in horror as the scene played out in front of her: Mina gasping in surprise and the two people in a heated tangle on the couch staring up at her with equally surprised looked on their faces.

"Oops!" Mina blurted, slamming the door closed and gazing at the frozen look on Serena's face with faux-sympathy.

Serena couldn't move. There was a fire roaring in her chest and it was making her head feel woozy. There was no way that she had seen Rei and Jed sharing a passionate kiss in Mina's room. It had to be a hallucination, or a couple that simply looked like Rei and Jed.

"Aren't you so happy for Rei and Jed? They've liked each other for _such_ a long time," Mina was saying, her eyes widened innocently.

Serena's throat was tightened and her eyes began to sting; she was going to cry. Suddenly, the narrow hallway felt suffocating and the sound of Mina's high-pitched voice sounded almost mocking, like she was taunting her. Without bothering to answer Mina, she turned on her heel and sprinted down the hallway, tears spilling down her face as she did so. Mina didn't run after her.

Stumbling down the stairs, her whole body was on fire with jealousy and humiliation. She couldn't believe she'd actually tricked herself into thinking Jed had liked her. She couldn't believe she'd thought Mina was actually being nice to her. The deriding look on her face had said it all; Mina had planned this from the start.

She needed, desperately, to cool down. Ignoring the blatant stares of her fellow classmates, she stumbled into the pool, heading for the seclusion of the grotto. Relieved to find the cave empty, she submerged herself into the water, allowing the coolness of the water to permeate her skin and cool her raging feelings of despair. She stayed submerged until her lungs felt like giving up.

When she resurfaced, she was panting heavily.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming back up."

Serena gasped and whirled around. "Darien, what the hell?"

He managed to shrug abashedly. "Sorry. I was wondering where you disappeared to."

She folded her arms across her chest, suddenly very aware that she was wet and scantily clad in only her tiny red swim suit. The way he was staring at her didn't help matters. "Thinking of pursuing 'stalker' as a future career?"

"Should I send you my résumé?"

Her lips twitched, but she restrained them. "Seriously, what do you want?"

His eyes darkened a shade and his voice became gentle and slightly lower. "I heard about what happened with you and Jed."

Serena's fist clenched instinctively and she turned away to hide her face. It had happened all of five seconds ago and everybody already knew of her embarrassment! Would she ever live it down?

"Serena." His deep voice gave her the chills and she heard the faint trickling of water as he moved closer to her. "Did you really like him that much?" He sounded resentful now, and she could feel his hot breath on her neck.

She shivered, her breathing becoming labored as his masculine scent invaded her senses. She wanted to lean into the scent, but she managed to restrain herself by gripping the edge of the pool until her knuckles turned white.

"Darien...," she began, unsure of exactly what to say, but feeling the need to speak up nonetheless.

His hot lips pressed against her ear as he whispered hoarsely, "God, I love it when you say my name." His hands were on her waist now, drawing her against his hard form.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" Her voice was strangled, the warmth emanating from his body making it hard for her to breathe, nonetheless speak.

He spun her around and when she looked up, confused, into his eyes she could see that they had darkened to an inky coal color. Panicking, she reiterated, "What are you doing?"

But the word "doing" had barely passed her lips before he pressed his mouth to hers. Her eyes widened with surprise, but the intense wave of pleasure that spread through her body like a flame as he entered her mouth had them quickly falling shut.

She knew it was wrong, the way her hands gripped his elbows, the way he leaned her back against the edge of the pool, using a hand to grab her thigh and hook it around his leg. It was wrong, all wrong, because she wasn't interested in him romantically, but it felt so _good_.

The way he was kissing her – like he never wanted to stop – was setting her nerve endings on fire. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest and her head swayed with the taste of him. When she inadvertently began to respond to his rather talented mouth, he groaned deliriously and she couldn't help but feel flattered that she could invoke such a response in the most desirable boy in school.

Suddenly, a mental picture of Jed and Rei locked in an embrace eerily similar to the one they were in now invaded Serena's head and she tore her mouth away from his. He stared at her with dazed eyes, as if he'd just woken from an eternity of sleep.

"I've...go to go." She turned and waded out of the pool, refusing to look back to see his expression.

"Serena, are you okay?" Ami asked when she found her. Ami's eyes were riddled with concern, but they also held a defeated look.

"You were right, this party sucks. Let's get out of here."

Ami still looked warily concerned, but she said nothing as she led her friend out towards the car. When they had been driving for a while, she turned towards her blonde friend, who was staring dejectedly out the window. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Serena shook her head.

"Would you feel better knowing that I had a terrible time too?"

Serena smiled weakly, grateful that even though Moto Azabu was chock-full of people determined to screw her over, she had managed to find one true friend. She listened with genuine interest as Ami recounted her miseries of the party and felt indignant on her behalf.

"Don't worry, Ames. We're going to make Zack realize what a catch you are."

Ami snorted skeptically. "And how are we going to do that?"

"I happen to have a few tricks up my sleeve."

* * *

Lita tugged anxiously on her glossy brown ponytail as she headed for her car, glancing over her shoulder a few times before getting in. Mina and Rei had been so caught up in their own pathetic drama they hadn't even noticed her give them the slip.

The sky had darkened a considerable amount and when she arrived at the house, the lights were out. That didn't stop her from knocking on the window; the third one on the left side. It was the same window she had climbed out of at the unheard of early hours when her friends would be sleeping off their hangovers or just climbing into bed.

She drew out her buzzing phone and frowned as the name "Rei" flashed across the screen. Without a second thought, she hit the "ignore" button and climbed into the now-open window. The sight that greeted her had her frown rapidly twisting into a full-blown smile.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

* * *

It was the day after the party and the roiling feeling in Serena's stomach still hadn't disappeared. Molly had been endearingly supportive, insisting that they needed a chill day and convincing her to join her at the country club. Though she felt exceedingly calm laying out on one of the cushy lounge chairs while waiters brought them pineapple infused water, she felt internally at war.

She couldn't seem to fully wrap her head around the events of the previous night. She felt angry at Mina for setting her up and even angrier at herself for letting herself get so worked up over Jed and Rei. Sure, she had liked him, but it had never been more than a crush. Serena was a romantic, but she was firm in her belief that there was no such thing as teenage love. Infatuation, maybe, but not real love.

What confused her even more was Darien. She had thought she'd wanted to kiss Jed, but after indulging in such exquisite kissing from his best friend, she wasn't so sure. She never believed Darien was serious when he flirted with her, but the way he had kissed her definitely proved he was after all. Worst of all, she had liked it! Alot! In fact, she wouldn't mind kissing that seductive mouth again! And again!

"Are you finally going to tell me what's been bugging you?" Molly slid her aviators down her nose, so that she could stare inquisitively at her friend.

Serena felt bad for not confiding in her friend, but the truth was; she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about _anything_ anymore. "Nothing really. Just stupid boy drama."

Molly leaned forward eagerly. "Is it about that hottie Darien?"

"No! Well...maybe. It's nothing, I swear." She was thankful her oversized sunglasses drew attention away from her traitorous cheeks.

"Serena...," Molly's eyes shone with hurt, "I thought we agreed that ever since that _incident_ we would tell each other everything."

Serena's face paled. For a moment, she had seen something flash in Molly's eyes. "Yeah...you're right. I'm sorry." She quickly launched into an explanation of the events of the night before. Playing the part of the loyal best friend perfectly, Molly gasped in all the right places and comfortingly patted her arm when she came to the part about Jed and Rei.

"Well what are you going to do now?" Molly asked, after Serena had finished her account.

Serena placed her face in her hands in an act of perplexity. "I don't know."

"Well," Molly began, chewing on the end of her sunglasses thoughtfully, "if it were me, I would get revenge on this Mina girl."

"Revenge?" Serena repeated dully.

"Yeah. They stole your man, so you should steal one of theirs."

"Mina doesn't have a man," Serena exasperated, but she faltered as thoughts of Darien circulated through her brain. It was no secret that Mina harbored some sort of possessive crush on MAA's reigning king.

Molly grinned mischievously. "You've thought of a target, haven't you?"

Serena returned her wicked smile. "Any ideas on the plan of attack?"

"For starters, we're going to need to hit the mall..."

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

_Notes:_

Review pretty please!

If you guys show me the love, I'll try and have the chapter out promptly at the end of the week again. So show me some looooooove. :)

Next chapter: a makeover, a fight, some hot and steamy Serena/Darien scenes, and so much more...


	4. Something Old and Something New

_A/N:_ Sorry for holding out on you guys. I promise to get better. :) Thanks for all the encouraging reviews, they keep me writing. Just a quick note: the Jamie mentioned in this chapter is actually Mina's crush from the anime in season three. Anyone remember him?

* * *

Chapter Four: Something Old and Something New

* * *

Darien leaned back against the white marble of the fountain, managing to look both languid and cocky at the same time. With Jed at his side and a flock of eager girls surrounding him and casting him adoring glances, it seemed like it was a typical Monday morning. However, this Monday morning was far from typical, because for the first time in his teenage life, Darien Shields was thinking seriously about a girl.

"Okay, what is it?" Darien turned towards Jed in alarm, almost forgetting that he'd even been there. "I've been talking to a wall for the past ten minutes. What's up with you, man?"

Darien ran a hand through his jet black hair, eliciting a sigh from his admirers, and addressed his friend. "Nothing...just a girl."

Jed raised his brows, impressed. Whoever the girl was, she had to be something special to affect Darien Shields so thoroughly. "Does this have something to do with where you disappeared to during Mina's party?"

"I'm not the only one who pulled a disappearing act."

At this, Jed groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was rehash the events of Mina's party with Darien. Rei was, after all, his _sister_!

Darien looked at him suspiciously. "Is this about Rei?"

Jed gave a defeated sigh. "Yes. Something happened at the party on Saturday."

"And?"

"And that's it. Something happened and now Rei's pretending that nothing happened at all. Your sister is completely infuriating you know."

Darien gave him a wry grin. "Try living with her."

"Yeah, yeah. What I want to hear about it this mysterious girl and more importantly if she has any friends," Jed said, trying to tactfully steer the conversation away from the dangerous topic of Rei.

As Darien opened his mouth to elaborate, he quickly shut it as the approaching form of Mina came into view. He figured talking about Serena wasn't the best idea in the present circumstances.

The loyal subjects surrounding their glorious king parted to allow the blonde upperclassmen to saunter up to the boys. Mina was looking exceptionally pleased, her pretty face gleaming with the afterglow of breaking Serena. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Jed nodded curtly, his suspicion in Mina's involvement in the event at the party a direct cause of his icy attitude towards her.

"Where's Rei and Lita?" Darien asked conversationally as the group of girls began to close in on him.

Mina gave a blasé shrug. "I haven't seen Lita since my party and Rei took the day off." She didn't miss how Jed was hanging on to her every word at the casual mention of Rei.

Darien, however, was more concerned with hungry-eyed girls who were circling him.

"Darien," one of them was saying as she rested her hands on the lapels of his school jacket, "maybe after school today we can go back to my place. My dad just got a new shipment of Cuban cigars."

"I have soccer practice," he answered dryly, only bothering to look up when a passing teacher told him to tuck in his shirt, which he ignored. The girl clutching his arm laughed obnoxiously, mistaking his laziness for rebelliousness.

"Just because you're Darien Shields doesn't mean you can ignore school rules."

Darien's dark head whipped around to the source of the flirtatious and very familiar voice. He felt his heart thrumming in response to the sweet, melodious sound. He had expected to see the usual mass of pale blonde hair, which had been pinned up and was already escaping its restraints, but he hadn't expected to see Serena looking like she had gotten dressed with Mina that morning.

Where there were once stockings and white tennis shoes, there was now bare leg and pointy high-heels. Her uniform also seemed to be borrowed from Mina, for it was shorter and noticeably tighter, but not enough to look trashy. Serena, who usually went to school barefaced, was even wearing makeup!

Darien remained speechless, unable to tear his eyes away from her golden legs, which moved sinuously as she made her way over to him, ignoring the irritated glances of Mina and the other girls.

A devious half-smile on her face, Serena situated herself in front of him and rested her hands on the tops of his thighs. He looked down in surprise at the position of her hands and then back up at her face, eyes glinting wickedly as he anticipated her next move.

She accepted his silent challenge by leaning forward and tucking his shirt into his uniform black pants, being sure to brush her hands across his delicious body in the process. When she heard him let out a ragged breath, she knew she had won.

The first bell rang, but nobody moved, preferring instead to watch the scene playing out in front of their eyes.

Flashing a victorious look towards a stunned Mina, Serena grabbed Darien's hand and smiled at him sweetly. "Walk to class with me?" The dreamy look on his face was too perfect—he was putty in her newly manicured hands.

"Or we could skip class and you could teach me a little more about school rules." The wicked look had returned and he was grinning roguishly at her.

She simply smirked and pulled him away from the gaping crowd, fighting the sudden urge to giggle in delight at the pleasurable tingles his hand was transferring to hers. By the infuriated look on Mina's face, she could tell her plan had been a success! By the time school ended, everybody would be speculating on whether or not she and Darien were hooking up. It was perfect.

Also, the nagging part of her brain reminded her, it didn't hurt that Darien was drop-dead gorgeous and made her heart pound in a strange way.

She considered dropping his hand, as they had turned the corner and were no longer in Mina's line of vision, but Serena decided that she liked the warm feeling of his hand encasing her smaller one.

* * *

A gust of wind blustered past and Ami repressed a shiver. In her shortened uniform skirt and bare legs, she had discovered that it was exceedingly difficult to keep warm. She anxiously ran a set of slender fingers through her newly blown out hair and stood on the tip-toes of her heels to see over the tops of her classmates heads. Mumbling a curse at the thought of her driver, she wondered bitterly why today of all days he had chosen to be late.

Ami had been the recipient of an endless number of stares and whispers for the entirety of the school day. Everybody was absolutely raving about how the class brain had turned into the class bombshell. The whole thing made her want to wipe off all of the subtly applied makeup and jump into six lane traffic.

Serena had insisted that she get a makeover with her, and she had grudgingly agreed. She wanted to show Zack exactly what he was missing out on. So they had gone over to Serena's friend Molly's house and concocted a game plan. It had required an agonizing day of shopping—something Ami abhorred—and a whole pile of fashion magazines, but they had done it.

Serena, who had already looked like every guy's dream to begin with, and Ami, who was the complete opposite, were now legitimately fabulous. In fact, it was rumored that the pair was even more fabulous than the infamous trio of Mina, Rei and Lita.

However, nothing had prepared Ami for the various catcalls and whispers and all of the sudden attention that had been thrust upon her. A girl in fourth period had complimented her shoes and another had actually asked what her brand of mascara was. The very thought of one of the snotty girls from her school asking for beauty tips was enough to make her suspect she had dreamed the whole day up.

Desperate to escape the scrutinizing glances of her classmates, Ami slipped past the crowds waiting for their rides home or socializing and made her way to the back of the parking lot, where she could wait for her driver in peace.

She was just about to crack open her Simplified Mandarin Chinese textbook when she heard a giggle and the slamming of a car door from afar. Curiosity seizing her, she glanced over at the black Mercedes with its dark-tinted windows and saw a familiar brunette give the driver of the sleek car a blush-inducing kiss on the lips before sliding discreetly out of the car. What was Lita doing with a mysterious guy in the back of the parking lot?

Ami nearly choked on her own spit when she got a good look at the driver. Serena would go into conniptions when she found out. Lita glanced around the parking lot and Ami was just beginning to slip out of her sight when they locked eyes.

"Shit," Ami muttered, as Lita began making her way over to where she was standing, a fiery look in her emerald eyes.

"Ami, right?" Lita's voice was cold. Ami nodded warily.

"Did you happen to see any of that?"

The question was blunt, leaving Ami unsure of how exactly to answer it. "Well...," she began, tugging on her skirt to mask her anxiety, "I suppose I might of."

Lita looked almost panicked now, and was tapping her chin with a manicured finger thoughtfully. "Listen, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything about it. Not even to Serena."

"Um," Ami said brilliantly, "alright."

"So we have an understanding?" The arch of her immaculate brow seemed almost threatening to Ami.

"I guess we do."

"Great," Lita finished, throwing in a bright smile for good measure. Ami realized that they had been walking back to the front of the parking lot, near the throngs of people.

"Lita! There you are!" Ami's eyes nearly burst at the sight of Zack jogging up to the pair of them. Lita shot her a knowing glance, as if to remind her of their agreement.

Zack opened his mouth to talk, but it slammed closed when he caught sight of Ami.

"A-Ami? Wow. You look different." She didn't miss the wideness of his eyes as he appraised her.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Ami mumbled, blushing from head to toe. She barely had time to register Lita's amused gaze when she felt the girl grab her by the arm and steer her away from Zack.

"Listen," Lita began in a hushed tone, "you keep my secret and I promise to talk you up to Zack."

"R-really?" Ami had been planning on keeping the girl's secret regardless, but this made things a whole lot more interesting.

"Scouts honor." It was all Ami could do but to smile up at her. "I think we're going to be very good friends."

* * *

Rei swirled her drink by its crystal stem and gave a polite smile to the bartender that was eyeing her eagerly. Mina and Lita were on either side of her, sipping their cocktails and maintaining the dull atmosphere that had settled over them since they had arrived at the club.

They were dressed to the nines in short and swingy dresses and towering stilettos, commanding the attention of all the suave males in the upper-class joint. However, each of them seemed to be off in their own respective worlds, barely bothering to spare any words to each other.

Mina, who always knew how to have a good time, jumped up from her barstool in a fit of inspiration and hailed the goggling bartender. "A round of shots please."

Rei cocked a brow at this sudden desire to get smashed and Lita rolled her slender shoulders back in a silent acceptance of the proposed challenge.

When the bartender handed slid them their drinks, Mina raised hers in a toast, "To making things interesting!"

Rei followed suit and raised her drink as well. "To forgetting this week ever happened."

"To the three hottest girls in the room," Lita added.

They simultaneously downed the shots, anticipating the sting.

"I hope you meant us," Mina joked. Rei snorted, already feeling drunk

Mina gestured to the mass of gyrating bodies on the pulsating dance floor. "I think they need a dose of the Goddess of Love!"

They were definitely up for the challenge. "I couldn't agree more."

They charged into the crowd and the second Mina began to sway her hips to the beat, she felt all eyes on her. This was what she loved about clubs, the attention. She was used to having all eyes on her wherever she went, but for a song or two, she got to have the total and complete attention of all those around her, without someone like Serena Tsukino to spoil it.

It wasn't long before Mina felt a pair of hands resting on her hips as someone brought her to his firm chest. She lifted her hands into the air and wiggled suggestively against him, basking in the envious stares she was getting.

"'Names Chad," the guy told her when the song had ended, leaning close so she could hear over the throbbing beats.

"Mina," she replied, eyeing his messy brown hair. He was definitely good-looking, but in a rocker-type way. Not really her type.

"Who's your friend?" Chad asked, jerking a finger over to Rei who was dancing with wild abandon, the way she only did when she was seriously drunk. She was totally going to feel it tomorrow.

Mina was secretly relieved he seemed more interested in Rei and smiled. "That's my friend Rei. How about you? Did you come alone?"

"I came with a friend too actually." He motioned to a face on the opposite end of the room. "This is Jamie."

Mina's blood froze as she drank in the deep tan of the dark-haired guy approaching them. No, it wasn't possible that Jamie Handler was making his way over to them. There was no way in hell Jamie would be caught dead in place like this. It had to be an illusion.

"Mina?" Jamie's olive eyes grew impossibly wide at the blond in front of him. Mina shifted feet nervously. What were the chances that she'd run into the one boy who made her feel like she was in middle school again?

"Do you two know each other?" Chad asked, chuckling at the utter absurdity of the situation.

Mina wasn't sure how to answer that. What was she supposed to say? Yes, they did know each other? That he was her first love?

"We used to date, actually," Jamie answered, maintaining a perfect poker face.

"Oh," was all Chad said. "Well, I'll let you two catch up." He slid over to Rei, leaving Mina staring awkwardly at her feet, something she never did.

"So how have you been?" He seemed to be making an attempt to keep things light-hearted, something she appreciated.

It was surprising really, considering the circumstances in which they had parted ways. She had met him at volleyball camp during the summer before her junior year. He had been in his first year of college and was one of the instructors and she had found him utterly irresistible. They'd hit it off instantaneously and had spent the summer making out after camp and playing beach volleyball at the rooftop court of his apartment building.

It had been sweet and real and had only lasted through the summer. When school started up again, it had become apparent that they hailed from completely different worlds. Where she was a spoiled high society princess, he was a struggling student.

He disapproved of her stuck-up dinner parties and snobby friends and she'd disapproved of his slacker roommates and his "roughing-it" way of life. It was a romance that only worked in the movies, not in real life.

"I've been good," she answered finally, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"Got a boyfriend?" He sounded conversational, but there was a strain in his voice.

She smiled brilliantly, feeling more like herself. "Nope. I'm all single. You?"

He nodded vaguely and she brushed off the sinking feeling in her stomach. "Missy. She's sweet." He seemed eager to keep the conversation focused on her. "Want to get out of here? Talk maybe?"

Mina looked over her shoulder at Rei and Lita, who were dancing with Chad and having a blast. "I think I'd like that."

* * *

Serena tapped her heel-clad foot impatiently, wondering when the assembly was going to start. It had been scheduled for last period and it was a Friday, so Serena was more than eager to go home for the week. Patience was definitely not her virtue.

She'd been unable to find Ami or any of the guys, so she was sitting by a random sophomore with an empty seat to her right. Anyone else would have looked like a total and complete loser, but since it was Serena she looked like a free spirit who regularly defied the social code, which wasn't too far from the truth.

Ignoring the curious stares of her peers and the voice of the dean as she began to talk mindlessly about homecoming, Serena was, as always, thinking tirelessly of a boy. However, the boy in question was not a golden-haired one, but rather a dark haired blue eyed one.

Darien Shields seemed to have taken up a permanent residence in her mind as of late. She found herself going over in her mind the things he had said that day or times he had touched her. It was maddening.

Much to her surprise, and secret delight, the object of her thoughts slid into the empty chair next to her, earning a sharp glance from the dean for his tardiness and looks of adoration from the females around them.

"What'd I miss?" His hot breath tickled her ear found herself shivering in spite of her long sleeves.

She was only able to shrug, his presence making her unable to properly exercise her vocal chords. His ability to make her head fuzzy and body freeze up was one of the reasons why he infuriated her.

Serena turned her head back in the direction of the dean, feigning attention if only to distract herself from Darien, who had leaned back and draped an arm across the back of her chair. This did not go unnoticed by the sophomore to her left, who was now watching Serena with envious eyes.

Out of her peripherals, Serena could see Darien's navy eyes trained on her in a heated gaze. He had a dreamy look in his eyes and it was driving her wild.

"What are you staring at?" she whispered out of the corner of her pale pink mouth.

He answered with a crooked smile and looked unabashed. "You."

She repressed a smile and pushed his handsome face with her palm so that it was turned towards the front. His eyes flashed with something at her touch and he caught her wrist before she could retract her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.

"Mmm your hands are soft," he murmured, moving his lips across her skin.

She wrenched her hand away from his devious mouth and pretended to glare. "Stop being so naughty."

"I can't help it. You bring out the worst in me." As if to illustrate his point, he dropped the arm that had been resting on her chair around her shoulders and molded to her to his side so that he could nuzzle her neck affectionately.

"Ms. Haruna is glaring daggers at you," Serena remarked, referring to the dean who was staring them down as she lectured.

He chuckled against her collarbone, the deep sound causing her to shiver. "Come on, let me buy you a milkshake or something."

She shook her blond head. "No way. If I ditch, Ms Haruna will hate me even more than she already does."

"Please?" He kissed the corner of her cupid's bow, making her azure eyes go wide. "She won't care if you're with me, baby."

The fact that he had been inches away from kissing her, coupled with the promise of chocolate was much too appetizing to resist. Also, she figured that Mina would go into conniptions after seeing her leave with Darien.

As they slid out of the back door of the auditorium, much to the shock and envy of the student body, she was forced to mentally reiterate that she was only doing this to get back at Mina. Definitely not because she liked Darien Shields. Because she didn't. She hoped.

"You better watch your speed, mister," she berated as they climbed into his sporty silver Porsche. He was universally known for being a speedy, if not reckless, driver.

He grinned and tauntingly revved the engine a few times before speeding out of the parking lot.

* * *

"Your brother looks like he's about to get laid," Ken remarked, exchanging high-fives with Zack as they watched Serena and Darien slip out the back door.

Rei rolled her eyes at their antics and continued to massage at her temple. She'd had way too much to drink last night and had a particularly nasty hangover as a result. She cursed herself for not being smart like Lita and staying home for the day.

It also didn't help that Jed kept sneaking her glances when he thought she wasn't looking. Things since that night at Mina's party had been sufficiently awkward between them and she found herself regretful for ever taking part in Mina's twisted plan in the first place.

It wasn't that she didn't like Jed. No, that was far from the reason why she continued to snub him. It the fact that doing anything more than flirting shamelessly and teasing each other would make things way more serious than she was ready for. Staying unattached gave _her_ the power, and she was too afraid to relinquish that power to Jed.

She knew she was a coward, but she didn't care. She refused to become a mess over any guy. She didn't want to be like Mina, who was cursing under her breath at Serena's latest ploy to infuriate her, or like Lita, who was probably at home biting her nails and stressing over some guy.

"Does your brother actually like Serena?" Mina asked, her voice laced with annoyance.

"Yes," Rei answered honestly. She had considered lying to spare her friend's feelings, but the truth was, Serena was all he talked about as of late. It was almost kind of sweet. Besides, she suspected Mina was more interested in her renewed friendship with that Jamie guy they'd met at the club.

"I don't blame him," Ken was saying, "I wouldn't pass up a chance to take a roll in the sheets with her either." Rei noticed that Mina shot him a glance that she wasn't able to decipher. Weird.

"Yeah, she's been looking hotter lately. I wonder how many times she's been screwed," Zack added.

Rei rolled her eyes. "You guys are such skeezes."

"Yeah," Jed interjected, "it's no wonder you haven't been getting any action." He flashed her a friendly smile, a peace offering.

She returned it weakly and turned her attention back to Ms Haruna. Suddenly, she was a lot more interested in listening to the dean's ramblings.

* * *

To be continued....

* * *

_A/N:_ Reviewwwww. The more feedback, the quicker the update. Next chapter has a major "awwww" moment too. ;)


	5. Declaration of War

The Lies We Tell

* * *

Chapter Five: Declaration of War

* * *

Mina was all business. With her pale hair tied into a serious bun at the nape of her neck and her uniform sleeves rolled up, she was ready to tackle to heady task of organizing the annual Moto Azabu Homecoming Dance.

"Catering?" she demanded, walking with an intimidating stride back and forth before the assembled homecoming committee members.

"How about the people who catered my cousin's cotillion?" Rei suggested, leaning back in her seat with ease, unlike the remainder of the committee, who were erect in their chairs for fear of upsetting their leader.

Mina gave a curt nod and Rei obediently began scrolling through her contacts on her PDA. "Decorations?"

"I'm on it." Lita whipped out her phone and began making a call to the city's most exclusive interior decorator, a friend of her dad's consequently.

Melvin, the class nerd and most irritating committee member stood up importantly. "Who's going to bring the alcohol?"

Rei blinked at him dumbly and Mina shot him an irritated glance, but it was Lita who deadpanned, "That's what the after-parties are for. Duh."

Melvin meekly sat back down in his seat and the meeting continued on. With Mina as head of the homecoming committee, the dance had the potential to be the best in Moto Azabu history. The bar that had been set by the past dances was high—the homecoming dance was the pinnacle of the MAA social calendar next to prom. All of the past head chairs of the homecoming committee were practically legends and Mina would be no exception.

When the majority of the planning had commenced for the day's meeting, it left them ample time to resume gossiping. Lita could hear bits and pieces of what the other committee members were saying and she couldn't help but bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"I heard she doesn't even sleep in her own house. She stays at Darien's, like his own personal mistress."

"Seiko swears she heard them screwing under the bleachers during sixth period yesterday."

"Apparently she's going to screw him for every goal he scores at the homecoming game."

Had Lita not been slightly relieved that for once they weren't spreading ridiculous rumors about _her_, she would have felt bad for Serena. It was almost comical the lengths her classmates would go to in order to gossip about Moto Azabu's new "It Couple", who technically weren't a couple at all.

"So," Mina began, leaning her blonde head closer to Rei and Lita's so that the other gossipers could scarcely hear them, "what's going on with you and Chad?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Absolutely nothing. He's been calling and texting, but I keep sending it straight to voicemail."

"What about you and Jamie?" Lita probed, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Mina feigned nonchalance, but her friends could tell she was secretly pleased with herself. "We've been hanging out."

Rei arched a brow sardonically. "Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"Oh God," Lita bemoaned, "don't tell me you've been fooling around with him behind her back!"

Mina looked indignant. "So what? It's more of a friends with benefits deal. People do that in college all the time."

"But we're in high school," Rei countered, tapping her fire engine red nails on the table anxiously. She could smell a dispute from a mile away.

Lita persisted despite the fact that she was treading in dangerous territory. "You deserve someone who can devote all their attention to you. You don't need a repeat of what happened with K-"

"And I suppose you would know all about sneaking around, wouldn't you?" Mina snapped before Lita could finish her sentence.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know what it means."

"Guys...," Rei began warily. The girls who had previously been gossiping about the status of Serena and Darien's relationship were now watching them curiously and Rei was anxious to prevent a scene. It seemed as if she was constantly mediating between people as of late. It was getting highly annoying.

Lita bolted up from her chair, grabbing her green patent leather bag. "I don't have to listen to this, especially from you of all people."

Rei tossed her a pleading look, but Lita ignored her attempts to placate and stormed from the room. She was getting tired of always listening to what other people said. Their society depended upon them looking good to the public at all times and avoiding conflict, but as the days went by Lita was finding it harder and harder to comply with the ancient rules of their elite families.

"I've been waiting for you."

Lita's down-turned lips curled upwards at the sound of his voice, and at the sight of his sandy brown hair and chocolate eyes, she broke out into a full grin. He was leaning against one of the manicured hedges, still dressed in his maroon Juuban Prep uniform.

"Someone could see you." Her voice was tinged with concern, but her elated smile gave her away.

He appeared unaffected. "So what if they do? I'm tired of sneaking around."

Lita heaved a sigh. She hated it when he dragged up all the difficult stuff. Couldn't he simply enjoy the few moments they had together without bringing up their schools or families? "We've been through this before. Your parents would flip a lid if they knew about us and so would my dad. Not to mention everybody at school."

"Who cares about everybody at school? Serena's still friends with us at Juuban and nobody gives a shit."

Lita rolled her impossibly green eyes and fingered a wild brown wisp that had fallen from her ponytail. "That's because she isn't _dating_ anyone from Juuban. You heard how pissed off people were when they thought she was still dating Damon."

He looked irritated at her constant stream of objections and grabbed both of her hands in his. "I just want to be with you and I don't care who knows it."

Lita bit her lip. He was making it so difficult. "Listen. Things are a bit tense with the Juuban and Moto Azabu homecoming game coming up, but if things go well then I promise that afterwards we can tell everyone we're dating."

"Deal." He kissed her pale mouth softly. "I should warn you, though; the guys at Juuban aren't taking Serena's transfer lightly. They're out for revenge."

Lita grinned mischievously and wrapped her arm around his neck. "It looks like I'm going to have to keep my enemies close."

Taking her hand, he led her back to his Mercedes. "Come back to my place and we can get a whole lot closer."

"Nick Rite," she scolded, sliding across the supple leather seats, "where did you get such a dirty mouth?"

He reached across her to close the door, a wicked glint in his brown eyes. "I think I'd rather show you than tell you."

Lita cocked a perfectly sculpted brow and he merely smirked in response, speeding quickly in the direction of his home.

* * *

A day later, Serena skipped jauntily down the paved pathway to the soccer fields, her French braided hair swinging from side to side down her back. She was feeling particularly happy, which had nothing to do with the good weather and everything to do with the prospects of watching Darien Shields at soccer practice.

As she made her way past the bleachers, which were littered with other students, mostly girls, intent on watching the boys' soccer practice, she noticed a familiar short haired girl and a brunette chatting amiably behind the bleachers.

"Ami!" The girl's head whipped around in her direction and she met Serena's broad smile with a wary look.

"Oh hey, Serena. What are you doing here?" She exchanged looks with Lita briefly and Serena suddenly felt anxious, fiddling with the large buttons on her navy pea coat.

"I came to watch the boys' practice. Want to come?"

Ami bit her lower lip and glanced at Lita. "Actually, we were going to go for sushi. You're welcome to come!"

"Oh." Serena tried to hide her disappointment, but her emotions were easily readable in her wide eyes. "It's okay. I'll just see you tomorrow I guess."

Ami smiled at her sympathetically before following Lita's departing figure. Serena had no idea how Ami and Lita could become such fast friends, but she was determined to be happy for her friend nonetheless. She'd always liked Lita the best out of the trio anyways.

Feeling slightly better, Serena continued her walk to the field and smiled when she was greeted by the sight of a slew of guys running drills down the field. The best medicine for a long day was some quality boy-watching. Her eyes scanned the field for a mop of black hair.

"Serena!"

The mere sound of his voice sent delicious tingles up and down her spine. He was resting a foot on one of the benches and retying his cleats, and as she approached him, she noticed that his stormy eyes were dancing.

"What are you doing here?" He finished tying his cleats and was smiling crookedly at her. He looked so gorgeous with his tanned face and sweat-matted hair that she had to resist the urge to throw her arms around his neck and kiss the life out of him.

"Is it a crime to watch my school's team practice?"

"No," he laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly. "I'm glad you came."

She wriggled under his grip. "You're all sweaty!"

"You know you like it," he teased, kissing her cheek before releasing her. The coach waved a hand in the air at him, signaling for him to join the rest of the team, but he ignored it.

"You'd better get back to practice," she suggested, though she was secretly enjoying his company and the feel of his addictive hands on her waist.

He smirked. "Only if you kiss me first."

Serena pretended to be offended. "Why should I?" Her heart was beating fast as she remembered the last kiss they had shared at Mina's party. The very memory of it was making her breathing shallow.

He grinned at her. "I think you're my good luck charm. You wouldn't want to let the team down, would you?"

She feigned a sigh. "If I must..." He looked at her expectantly.

Slowly, teasingly, she placed her warm hands on his neck and slid them up to his chin. His eyes immediately went to her mouth and she bit her lip to keep from smiling, which only served to make him more enraptured. Leaning in, she gently brushed her lips against his, so that they were barely touching. She heard him emit a frustrated and impatient groan and she smiled against his lips.

"Tease," he muttered.

She laughed before pressing her lips more firmly against his and surrendering herself to the sensation of his hot mouth opening against hers. He ran his fingers though her braid as their kissing became more intense and rapidly began surpassing the level of what was decent in a public place. The stars and white hot fireworks she had experienced when he had first kissed her reacquainted themselves with her mind and she welcomed them warmly.

An awkward coughing sounded from behind them and they both broke apart guiltily; annoyance splayed across Darien's face and embarrassment flushing hers.

"Can you wait a damn second?"

Serena laughed at his frustration. "Can't get enough, can you?"

He smiled his lopsided grin at her. "Never." Ignoring the demands of his coach, he buried his face in her fragrant hair. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"What?" She leaned back from his embrace in surprise.

"Be my girlfriend," he repeated, eyes dancing. Her heart swelled, rendering her speechless. He mistook her speechlessness for hesitation and began kissing her neck tenderly. "Please?"

She closed her eyes, temporarily lost in the sensation of his devious mouth hot and insistent on her neck.

"Yeah, okay," she mumbled, her head dizzy.

His head shot up, navy eyes alight with a look that was so boyishly happy she couldn't help but smile back at him.

The coach whistled at him again. "I have to go," he laughed. He gave her lips a quick kiss before turning to leave.

"You better call me, boyfriend!" she called out after him.

He turned around and gave her a mock-salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

It was a beautiful day. The sky was a clear, pristine blue and the sun beat down on them in a way that was not sweltering, but pleasant. Serena lifted up her head to sneak a glimpse of Seiya, Damon, and Nick kicking around a soccer ball and promptly turned so that she was facing Molly.

"See, I told you it wouldn't be weird." This was accompanied by a snort from Beryl, who was lying out next to Molly.

Serena had been reluctant to take Molly up on her offer to skip fourth period and come to Juuban Park with the gang like they did all the time in the previous year, but the day was so beautiful, she eventually caved. It was nice to lie out and soak up the sun with her old buddies, even if the guys were being unusually distant and cold with her. Considering the fact that Damon was now officially going out with Beryl, she couldn't understand why he still held a grudge against her. Now that she was with Darien, she wanted everyone else around her to be happy too, and that included Damon Diamond.

Darien. Even the mental mention of his name made the pit of her stomach feel like a vat of bubbling liquid. They'd only been going out for a day and she still couldn't get over the fact that he was her boyfriend. He'd driven her to school that morning and had made it a point all day to meet up with her between classes. He was being so sweet, she didn't even care that the entire school was buzzing about their new relationship. She did, however, care about what her friends thought. They were important to her and she wanted to make sure they were okay with it.

"So," Molly began, applying a generous amount of tanning oil to her collarbone and handing it to Serena, "update me about what's happening on enemy territory."

Serena rubbed the oil onto her bare stomach and contemplated how to break it to her gently. She figured it would be easier to just blurt it out. "Darien Shields asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes."

"What?" Molly and Beryl exclaimed simultaneously.

Serena immediately began to do damage control. "I know he's the sworn enemy of Juuban, but I really like him."

Molly slid her aviators on to the mass of red curls at the crown of her head. "Really?" She sounded excited. "I think that's awesome! Darien is a total hottie!"

Beryl stayed silent, unable to correct them purely for the fact that it was true. The irritated expression on her face due to the task of suppressing herself from saying something snotty had Serena giggling uncontrollably.

It was the sound of her alluring laugh that spurred the boys to take a break and join them.

"What are you girls gossiping about?" Seiya asked, dribbling the ball on his knees. Damon had sat down next to Beryl and she began massaging his shoulders. Serena tried not to gag.

"Only Serena's newest boyfriend," Molly exclaimed.

"Molly!" Serena threw a handful of grass at her friend, but it was too late.

"What?" choked Seiya, letting the soccer ball drop to the ground as he stared at her in bewilderment. "Who?"

"Darien Shields, of course," Beryl interjected snobbishly. Serena had to restrain herself from chucking Seiya's soccer ball straight at her face.

The fury in Damon's eyes was so palpable even Beryl retracted her claws from his shoulders. "You mean you actually like that guy?"

Even the easy-going Seiya looked infuriated. "I thought you said you guys weren't going out."

Serena, throwing Molly a sharp look for causing her so much trouble, gave an exasperated sigh. "Darien's cool, okay? Your stupid rivalry is getting a bit old now, don't you think?"

"This coming from the enemy." Damon and Seiya, followed by a strangely silent Nick, got back up to resume their soccer match, glaring at her icily as they did so.

Serena stuck her tongue out at the redhead. "Thanks a lot, Molly!"

Molly, her lips pursed together in a tight smile, said nothing. Serena sighed, suddenly regretting ever coming. Molly was obviously upset at Seiya's reaction to the news. She couldn't help that her friend was so obviously obsessed with Seiya and she couldn't help that Seiya still harbored affection for her. It wasn't like she was _trying_ to steal Seiya away from her. She could tell that Molly was still upset about the events that had transpired over the summer, but it wasn't something that could be helped.

Serena turned over onto her stomach, so that her face was buried into the soft grassy tendrils and she could smell the crisp sent of earth. She noticed that across the field, Damon and Seiya were whispering in a huddle and glancing at her every so often. It was making her nervous. They were obviously not taking the loss of their reigning queen very lightly and Serena felt a strange sense of foreboding that they wouldn't let her go without a fight.

* * *

The Moto Azabu fight song blared from all the speakers and the gym was exploding with the excited cheers of the students as they all joined in getting pumped up for the Homecoming Pep Rally. It was a lame tradition meant to get people excited for the Homecoming Soccer Game, but people still took it seriously.

Serena anxiously scanned the crowd for any sign of Ami, as they'd planned on sitting next to each other, but her friend had never shown up. She'd been flaking out on their plans more and more often and Serena had gotten the feeling that Ami was hiding something from her. It made her worried.

A pair of warm arms circled around her waist and tore her attention away from the throngs of people. The rapid beating of her pulse let her know exactly who it was.

"Looking for someone?" His voice was smooth like liquid chocolate and she found herself leaning her head back against his hard chest. He kissed her on the top of her head and she turned around to face him. "Where were you after fourth period?"

Serena winced. The last thing she wanted to tell him was that she had been hanging out with Damon Diamond and crew, but the twinkle in his navy eyes made it impossible for her to lie to him. "I went to the park with some Juuban friends."

He scowled. "Don't tell me Damon was there."

She pulled him by the hand so that they were sitting down on the bleachers and grinned jokingly. "Okay, I won't." He didn't say anything, brows furrowed. She clasped one of his hands in both of hers soothingly. "Don't be mad. We barely even talked."

"I don't like guys who try to get with my girlfriend." Serena could barely restrain herself from smiling goofily at the word 'girlfriend'.

"He wasn't trying to get with me. He already has a girlfriend to get with."

The band started to play and Serena could barely make out Darien's grumble of, "I still don't trust him."

Laughing her tinkling laugh, Serena placed her hands on his tanned face reassuringly. "Then it's a good thing I only have eyes for you."

He cracked a mischievous smile at that and leaned in to capture her lips when Zach clapped him on the back and Ken clownishly put his arm around Serena's shoulders before sitting down. Jed and Rei shortly followed suit, making extra pains to sit far away from each other. Serena craned her neck to see where Lita was and nearly fell off of the bleachers at the sight of Lita a few rows away with none other than Ami by her side. She felt slightly hurt that her friend had ditched her, but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

"You guys have only been going out for a few days and you're already one of those nauseating couples," Ken quipped.

Serena giggled and let Darien put an arm around her waist to mold her to his side. Even the slightest contact with his warm body made her feel deliciously tingly. The students got quiet as Mina took center stage with a microphone and a smile.

"As President of the Homecoming Committee, I'd like to congratulate the boys' soccer team for kicking ass," she smirked as Dean Haruna shot her a glare, "and for their upcoming victory over Juuban Prep." The crowd burst into wild cheers. When the noise died down, she continued, "Here's varsity captain Darien Shields to present team pins."

The room erupted into even louder cheers as their reigning king, giving Serena a parting squeeze, took the microphone from Mina and the rest of the soccer team clustered around their leader as he began to read off the names.

Serena was left sitting with Rei, who seemed surprisingly less hostile towards her than before. Leaning forwards so that she was in Ami's line of vision, Serena attempted to grab her friend's attention, but she was too busy laughing at something Lita was saying. Lita waved her hands around to illustrate something she was saying and something on her hand twinkled and nearly blinded Serena. She squinted to make out what it was and suddenly her impossibly blue eyes widened.

"No freakin' way..."

Rei glanced at her curiously. "What?"

As Mina sat down next to them, cheeks flushed pink from excitement, Serena stood up and smuggled her way towards where Lita and Ami were sitting. Rei and Mina exchanged looks and promptly followed the determined path of Serena.

Serena was panting a little when she finally made it over to them and spouted a hurried apology to the freshman she accidentally sat on.

Ami looked alarmed. "Sorry, Serena. I know I said I'd sit with you, but-"

"It's fine. This isn't about that. Lita, can I see that ring you're wearing?"

Lita's green eyes got huge and she quickly sat on her ringed hand. "I'm not wearing a ring today. Sorry."

"You always wear rings. It's your signature thing," Mina interrupted shamelessly. Serena and Ami looked surprised at their intrusion, but Lita simply glared.

"Well some things change." She gave them a tight smile.

"Oh, bullshit!" Rei exclaimed suddenly, her arm darting out like a snake to grab Lita's hidden hand.

"Rei! Stop!" Lita tugged back on her arm, but when Rei Shields wanted something, Rei Shields _got_ it.

"Oh."

"My."

"God," Rei concluded, staring dumbly at the ring on Lita's finger.

Lita opened her mouth in defense, but the motion was halted as the lights in the gym flickered out.

"What the hell?"

"Is this some kind of joke?"

There was a fumbling sound as Dean Haruna reached for the microphone. "Sorry, everyone. There seems to be some minor technical difficulties. If you will just stay calm and..."

Her assured voice drifted as a familiar and hated tune began playing softly in the background. It swiftly got louder and louder, until the Juuban Prep theme song was echoing off the walls of the gym.

The lights flickered back on and loud gasps could be heard as the students surveyed the gym with horror. In place of the many Moto Azabu banners and posters were now maroon and silver Juuban Prep regalia. The student body thundered with indignation.

Serena chanced a glance over at Darien and saw that his jaw was clenched tightly and she knew he was mentally cursing Damon Diamond.

"Is that a Juuban Prep class ring?" Mina demanded, bringing Serena back into the present.

The normally composed Lita looked shaky. "So? It's just a ring."

"That's Nick Rite's ring!" Serena pointed to her friend's initials engraved on the edge of the ring.

"So Nick is the guy you've been sneaking around with?"

"Sneaking around with?" Serena and Mina exclaimed simultaneously.

Rei gestured around then gym with a sneer. "So you've been canoodling with the enemy. Real nice, Lita."

Ami brazenly interjected, "It's not a big deal. It's not like Nick was a part of that prank anyways."

"You want to bet?" Serena shot angrily. She couldn't believe that Ami would keep something like that from her. Especially with someone like Lita, who had never done anything nice for the girl. "Go ahead and ask him. I'll bet you anything this was courtesy of the Juuban Soccer team."

The girls were silent.

Mina turned away from them. "Come on, Serena. Let's leave these little liars to backstab _each other_ instead of _us_."

Giving Ami a parting glower, Serena followed Mina and Rei back to their original seats, where the rest of their group was having a heated discussion.

"Those guys can't get away with screwing with us," Ken muttered vehemently.

Darien nodded seriously. "Don't worry, they won't."

Juuban had fired the first blow, but Moto Azabu wasn't going to go down without a fight. All bets were off. This was war.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

A/N: Heh...not my best work, I'll admit. I'll probably go back and revise this at a later point, but it's good enough for now. Tell me your thoughts about this one, like what you think about S/D's relationship and if Lita's mystery man was too obvious. Until next time!


	6. Traditions and Revenge

The Lies We Tell

* * *

Chapter Six: Traditions and Revenge

* * *

It is universal knowledge that traditions are held sacred in Tokyo's wealthy Azabu district. The established families of Azabu were proud of their traditions and taught their children to feel the same. Thus said, the age-old ritual of the Moto Azabu "Falcon Night" was looked forward to with keen anticipation.

It was a rite of passage for every varsity soccer player to experience Falcon Night and for the newest members of the team to be formally initiated. As was the custom, the task of organizing Falcon Night was entrusted to the soccer captain himself.

That being said, it was no surprise that the Shields mansion was buzzing with activity that Saturday morning. His parents being gone as per usual, Darien and Rei had the house to themselves, giving him ample opportunity to make any preparations necessary for the upcoming event.

He had Rei supervising all the employees in the mansion to clear out the expensive antique furniture in the main entertaining room and making sure that the liquor cabinet was adequately stocked.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your boys' night or whatever it is?" Serena asked, fingering a strand of hair as she reclined on his bed.

Darien, flipping through various radio stations in an attempt to block out the noise the workers were making in the other room, nodded absently. Finally settling for a rock station, he turned back around towards her to drink in the sight of her elegant black skirt and breezy sleeveless top as she leaned back against his pillows and mindlessly tapped her foot to the beat of the music. His heart instinctively began pounding, something that he was getting used to after being around Serena so much.

"You okay?"

Snapping out of his reverie with a quick shake of his head, Darien nodded and sat beside her on the bed.

Her irresistible blue eyes widened and her pretty mouth formed a persuasive pout. "Are you sure you don't want to forget about this bachelor party and hang out with your girlfriend instead?"

"I can't. It's my job as team captain to host it." His lips curled into a devious smirk. "But I'd be willing to reconsider if you were able to somehow convince me otherwise."

"Is that so?" Her eyes held a wicked glint and she stealthily crawled over top of him, so that her flaxen hair was tickling his cheek. With a surprising amount of skill, Serena slid her small hands under his shirt to explore the muscled planes of his chest and began pressing soft kisses along his jaw line.

He hummed in appreciation and she incited him further by teasing her fingers along the waistband of his jeans. Unable to resist her ministrations a moment longer, Darien flipped her onto her back with a fierce swiftness and covered her mouth with his. Although she was momentarily caught by surprise, Serena responded instantly, running her fingers through his silky hair in a way that she knew drove him wild.

For a moment, she allowed herself to get lost in him. Their mouths and tongues danced with a hungry ferocity that could set the room aflame. His taste, his smell, his very presence were so omnipresent in her mind that she forgot what she had set out to accomplish. It almost scared her how all-consuming the fire he ignited inside her was.

It took a while but she eventually recalled her reasoning behind kissing him in the first place and returned to her original task. Darien nearly groaned when Serena lifted and relieved him of his shirt, tossing it in a heap on the carpeted floor.

"Be careful, Sere. I may not be able to control myself," he warned with a wink.

Releasing her golden hair from its clip so that it tumbled down her shoulders with a flourish, she smiled innocently back at him. "So I guess even Azabu's star soccer player has a weakness."

He kissed the twin dimples her smile had revealed. "You bet, baby. You're my own personal curse."

"Hmm, I think I like the sound of that." She grinned mischievously before reaching for his belt buckle.

Just as her delicate fingers began to undo the supple leather, the door slammed open and a harassed-looking Rei appeared before them.

"Oh, er, sorry to interrupt," she said, grinning coyly at the two of them.

"Yeah, you seem to do that a lot," Darien grumbled and his sister rolled her eyes at him.

"You poor baby," Rei deadpanned. "I just wanted to talk to Serena."

Serena, wriggling out of Darien's arms and looking flustered, approached her with slight relief. If Rei hadn't walked in when she did, who knows what might have happened? She gazed at the girl curiously. While it was true that since the Homecoming assembly they had all forged a friendship, it was far from unbreakable.

"Since Darien has so kindly kicked me out of the house for the night," Rei began, shooting her brother a glower, "Mina and I thought it would be cool if we had our own party."

Serena's eyes brightened at the words 'party' and her interest was immediately peaked. "You can definitely count me in."

Rei broke into a smile. "Great! Mina's renting out the top floor of The Lotus. It's gonna be killer."

Serena was impressed. The Lotus was the most luxurious and expensive hotel in Tokyo and was infamous for its many celebrity guests. She was surprised that Mina could get the best room in the hotel at such short notice, but then again it was not uncommon for people in their society to arrange over-the-top gatherings last minute.

"Is there going to be guys there?" Darien's brows were furrowed in such a handsome way, Serena couldn't help but stare at him longer than necessary.

Rei's eyes rolled skywards yet again. "Relax. It's girls only."

Darien looked relieved.

"We should probably get going," Serena said, her statement corroborated by a nod from Rei. She gave Darien's hand a parting squeeze, but he didn't let go and instead pulled her to him so that he could kiss her full on the mouth. It was a quick kiss, but it still left her insides quaking and as she walked out the door with a disgruntled Rei, her knees were suspiciously wobbly.

Shortly after they left Darien's room, they encountered a familiar mop of blonde hair.

"Hey, Serena and...Rei." Jed nodded curtly at the latter. "Any chance Darien's in?"

"He's in his room." Serena flashed him her signature smile and they continued to walk, gabbing animatedly about their plans for the night.

At the sight of Serena's brilliant smile, Jed couldn't help but feel a loss. It had been so long since they'd hung out together and he was really beginning to miss her.

* * *

"This is so boring."

Even though she was nestled into the most comfortable corner section of the L-shaped leather couch, Ami couldn't help but agree. Watching celebrity news on a Saturday night just wasn't any fun.

Things at school had been rather dull as of late. Ami hadn't talked to Serena since the incident at the pep rally and Mina and Rei had been giving Lita the silent treatment. It was weird not knowing what was going on in Serena's life and she felt uncomfortably out of the loop, but hanging out with Lita had its advantages too. Lita was a fun person to be around, and her honest, no-bullshit personality was refreshing.

However, being excommunicated from their friends meant they were now the last to know about any social events.

"Let's do something fun," Lita declared, hoping off of the couch and walking across the glossy hardwood floors to her walk-in closet. Lita lived only with her dad, so their fashionable penthouse condo was always spacious and impeccably clean.

Ami followed her, plopping down on her silk bedspread as Lita began rummaging through her many cocktail dresses and ball gowns. "I heard the soccer team is having their annual initiation night."

Lita paused to give her an impressed glance. "I forgot about that. Where's it being hosted at?"

"Darien's house, I think."

Lita's lips curled upwards and she grabbed a curve-hugging green dress. "What do you say we crash this little party and show those boys how to really have fun?"

Ami grinned back at her, though she wasn't as sure of herself. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

The penthouse suite of The Lotus was unsurpassed where luxury was concerned. Gold silk blanketed the large canopy beds and the floor-to-ceiling windows. The modern-looking couches they had pushed to the corners of the room were made of real Italian leather and there was a spacious balcony over-looking the heart of Tokyo. The hotel was famous for its lavish suites and celebrity clientele. In fact, it had been rumored that the sexy, soulful rock star Sapphire was occupying a room after one of his wild gigs.

Mina, sporting a backless gold number, looked like the reincarnation of Aphrodite herself. With her free-flowing hair and bold red lipstick, she'd had the bellboys thinking she was an elusive movie star escaping the limelight for a weekend. Serena, by contrast, was wearing a one-shouldered dress of silver that made her blue eyes pop against her lightly tanned skin. Her pale hair had been pinned up and streaked with silver glitter. With their sky-high stilettos and glamorous dresses, it looked as if they were off to a movie premiere or a society ball.

"Let's play a game," Mina declared.

"I'll get the champagne," Rei, who was smoking in the corner with Amara, Trista, and Michelle, said. Stubbing out her cigarette, she sauntered in her sleek black dress over to the mini bar, which had been expertly stocked with liquor that cost as much as her diamond earrings.

"Dare or drink?" Mina raised her eyebrows at Rei in a silent challenge.

"Dare."

Mina smiled wide. "I dare you to give Chad a booty call."

Rei wrinkled her nose. "Ugh. Pass. I'll just take the drink."

Shrugging her shoulders, Mina handed her the bottle of champagne and Rei took a long swig. Cheeks flushed pink from the alcohol, she turned towards Mina and dished out the ultimatum.

"Do you even have to ask? Dare."

Rei and Serena exchanged glances and giggled conspiratorially. "I dare you to steal the doorman's uniform."

Mina rolled back her shoulders, looking the picture of confidence. "Give me ten minutes."

They laughed as she grabbed a room key and walked like a soldier going into battle out the door. As they waited, Rei distributed the champagne flutes and they all got gloriously tipsy. By the ninth minute, they were all counting down the seconds.

"Eight! Seven! Six!"

Mina burst through the door with five seconds to spare, the doorman's hat tipped jauntily atop her golden head and panting slightly. Grinning like a champion, she held up the burgundy uniform as if it were a trophy.

"How'd you do it?" Trista asked.

"I took him to the coat closet." Mina winked.

They whooped and cheered in celebration of their fearless leader. After refilling their champagne glasses, it was Serena's turn.

"Dare," she said confidently, the champagne she had drunk making her feel deliciously reckless.

Mina fingered a glossy room key with a smirk. "I dare you to break into Sapphire's room."

Serena's blue gaze widened. "Sapphire? THE Sapphire? He's staying here?"

Mina shrugged. "The bellboy tipped me off and I snatched a copy of his room key."

Serena giggled and she took the key from Mina's open palm. "Just break into his room?"

"No, you'll need to bring proof," Rei declared.

"Easy." Wobbling slightly on her high heels, Serena breezed down to the elevators and went a floor down. The dare seemed simple enough, she just had to pilfer a pair of his underwear or something, and she couldn't help but feel impassive as she slid the card into the lock.

She was surprised to find the room to be impeccably clean, for she had figured that all rockstars were innately messy. Her eyes went instantly to the PDA that was buzzing and flashing on the bedside table. In a fit of inspiration, she whipped out her own phone so that she could copy his contact list into her own. What better proof was there than the phone numbers of other celebrities? Besides, she figured they could use the numbers for prank calling if things got dull.

She gave a dramatic leap onto the bed, for they were really quite comfy, and proceeded to search for the memory card on his phone. She banged it on the dresser a few times when it remained stubbornly in the slot.

"Is there a reason you're in my bed...and beating up my phone?" An agitated, male voice inquired.

"Oh!" Serena dropped the phone onto the plush carpet in her surprise and met the eyes of Tokyo's hottest rockstar. She realized how bad the situation appeared to an outsider; she looked like a well-dressed thief. With his dark hair and eyes, Sapphire almost looked a little like Darien, so she found herself smiling at his perplexed expression. It was the smile that had gotten her out of everything and she prayed that it wouldn't fail her now.

His eyes softening at the appearance of her angelic smile, he reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a pen. "Listen, I can just give you your autograph and you can be on your way. We won't even need to call security."

Serena, still mildly tipsy, threw back her head and laughed at his misinterpretation. "I don't need an autograph. It was just a dare. Sorry about hitting your phone." She purposefully widened her blue eyes, looking the paradigm of innocence.

"A dare?" He grinned bashfully at her. "Well in that case, who am I to throw a beautiful girl out of my room?"

***

"Do you think we should see if she's okay?" Rei asked, swirling her champagne flute and biting her lip. Serena had been gone for a good fifteen to twenty minutes and she was getting worried.

"Let's give her five more minutes," Mina suggested.

Thankfully, they didn't have to bother waiting, because the door burst open and a victorious Serena marched in.

"Well? Where's your proof?" The girls demanded.

"Right here, ladies." Sapphire stepped into the suite and all jaws dropped. Even Mina couldn't help but applaud the petite blonde.

"Thank you, thank you," Serena joked, bowing exaggeratedly.

"Well you guys are just in time for me to give Rei her next dare," Mina said. She turned towards Rei, who was flippantly reapplying her lipgloss. "I dare you to kidnap Juuban's golden owl."

* * *

The tradition of Falcon Night had been successful thus far. With the help of Ken's uncle, who owned a chain of upscale clubs and bars, they had managed to rent out a private room in the popular club Bonsai.

The soccer boys were having a roaring good time, having encountered a slew of twenty-something women and drinking overpriced scotch. Darien, forced to be the responsible one until the initiation was over, had found a nice spot on the cushioned booth to supervise the wild youths.

Though many women had batted their eyes at him and tried to flirt shamelessly, he had cast them off with disinterested glances. He knew he should feel worried that other girls no longer interested him, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

When they had partied for a good couple of hours, he hustled them back to the Shields mansion for a mellower atmosphere before he gave them their initiation mission. Idly sipping a glass of scotch with a loose grin on his face, he chuckled as Jed, joined by Ken and Zach, hobbled over to him.

"Good turn out this year," Ken slurred.

"That's for sure," Zach agreed, "Did you see that Tokyo U girl who was all over me?"

Jed's golden brows furrowed. "I thought you were interested in that Ami girl!"

"Shut up, man!" In an attempt to change the subject, Zach asked, "What about you, Dare? Has Serena failed to make you an honest man?"

Darien grinned lazily. "I'm afraid she's succeeded." He laughed as they jokingly booed.

"Whipped!"

"Hey now," Ken protested in Darien's defense, "If Serena was my girl, I'd be an honest man too."

"Yeah," Zach agreed. "He gets to bang the hottest girl in Azabu on a regular basis."

"Could you be more immature? You sound like Ken," Jed stated, feeling a little uneasy. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how he felt about Serena and his best friend "banging". The idea nagged at him for some reason.

"Things are different with Serena," Darien admitted seriously. "I want to do things right."

Ken emitted a low whistle. "You must have it bad."

Darien, sensing that the conversation was heading somewhere a little too serious, smirked cheekily. "At least I have _something_."

Ken scowled and they all chuckled at his expense.

"Shouldn't we be giving the rookies their mission right about now?" Jed inquired, his emerald eyes sweeping over the chaos of the room. It was going to take a lifetime to clean up after this one. Thankfully, the Shields family was fully staffed.

Jed tossed Darien a hockey stick and they began to assemble the soccer new-comers. Asanuma, an eager recruit and prime Darien worshipper, pushed his way to the front of the crowd. As Darien paced back and forth sergeant-style, they barely contained their trepidation.

"To be a team, we have to act like a team," Darien began, "and in order to do that, we can never let our enemies get the best of us." He slapped the end of the hockey stick in his hand threateningly. "To show your devotion to the team, you have to be willing to do anything."

Unexpectedly, he hammered the stick in front of Asanuma's nose and grinned when he only flinched a little. "Your mission," he continued, flashing a miniature golden owl figurine in one hand, "is to take the Juuban golden owl statue hostage and report back here immediately."

The small owl in his hand looked familiar to all in the room. Everyone at Azabu knew of the large owl statue in honor of Juuban's statue. It was the pride and joy on the campus and kidnapping it would be a blow to the entire student body.

There was a snicker from Ken at the recruits' shell-shocked expressions, but Darien wasn't done yet. "If you fail to complete this mission or any word of it gets out to the administration," he paused to place the figurine on the ground before him and fisted the hockey stick, "then you might as well transfer to Juuban." _Crunch_. The miniature owl shattered into an indefinable heap under his hockey stick. "Am I clear?"

The boys nodded numbly and shuffled determinedly out the door, Asanuma proudly leading the pack.

"We have a good half-hour," Jed proclaimed, leaning lazily back on the couch. The remaining soccer team was then free to continue the party with a renewed vigor.

It had only been fifteen minutes, when the door opened again. The boys looked up in alarm; had they really been able to pull off the prank that fast?

"Hey boys," Lita said silkily, sashaying into the room with a wide smile. She was accompanied by Ami, who looked slightly more tentative.

"It's guys only, right Dare?" Ken protested.

Darien shrugged indifferently. "It doesn't really matter anymore."

Zach grinned and looked pointedly at Ami. "Well then come on in, ladies!"

* * *

"This is heavy!" Rei complained.

"Lift it a little higher," Mina instructed, as Amara, Michelle, and Rei attempted to remove the massive statue from its pedestal in the middle of Juuban Prep's courtyard. The sight of the girls in their stilettos hauling a hundred pound owl in the dead of night was almost comical.

Serena's new rockstar friend had lent them his limo, where he, Serena, and Trista were waiting with the doors opened so that they could make a quick escape once they had managed to drag the statue into the car.

Rei left out a puff of breath that looked like smoke in the chilly midnight air and rested her hands on her slim hips. They had managed to get the owl off the stand and onto the ground, but they still had to make the quick dash to the car before they could call the mission a success.

"Everybody freeze!"

The girls were immobile, breaths held. Time stopped, and once Rei's heart slowly began to beat again, she peered into the darkness for the source of the demand.

"Asanuma, you're such an asshole!" Rei seethed. She should have known it would have been one of Darien's worshippers from the soccer team come to do his bidding. How annoying.

"Just back away from the owl and nobody will get hurt." His smile was goofy and he was obviously drunk.

Rei snapped back instantly. "_You're_ going to get hurt if you don't get out of here!" This had a ring of truth; if they didn't get the show on the road soon, they could get seriously busted.

He looked worried now. "Come on, we need the owl for the initiation."

Rei gave a dismissive laugh, but Mina, who was surveying the scene from afar, smiled. "How about we steal it together?"

Asanuma scrunched up his face in careful consideration and looked to the rest of the guys for backup. "I'm not sure that would count."

Exchanging a quick look with Rei, Mina and her sidled up to him with seductive grins and they linked arms with him. "Come on, we can give you guys a lift back to Darien's. Just put the owl in limo."

Unable to resist the persuasions of Moto Azabu's most beautiful, he signaled for the rest of the guys to help them haul the statue back to the limo.

"What's going on?" Serena asked when about ten soccer boys and the rest of the girls piled back into the limo with the trophy of their success.

"Change of plans," Mina said, "It looks like we're going to be paying Darien and the boys a little visit."

* * *

"Where are they?" Jed asked after finishing another round of shots. It had been well past an hour since they had marched off for Juuban.

"Maybe they got arrested," snickered Ken.

Darien chuckled at the thought, but Zach was too busy falling all over himself to impress Ami to join in.

"Who's up for another round?" Lita asked, waving the bottle enticingly.

However, her question remained unanswered, for the double-doors were dramatically pushed open to reveal a throng of victorious soccer players carrying a golden owl. Most surprising was the appearance of a fabulous sextet of girls and an eerily familiar stranger. Mina, wearing what looked like a bellboy's hat, strode in front to help direct the boys in placing their trophy in the center of the room.

The room was abuzz.

"Is that Sapphire?" croaked Ami in reference to the dashing figure at Serena's side. Lita huffed indignantly at her side. It was just like Mina to waltz in and ruin all their fun. She rolled her eyes at the expressions on the boys' faces. Darien wasn't the only one who stood gaping in awe of his girlfriend's brilliance; the whole room was staring at her, Mina, and Rei as if the heavens had just opened up and rained them down.

Jed was staring at Serena with wide eyes. She had strolled into the room like a streak of silver and even her skin was sparkling. Why hadn't he ever noticed how gorgeous she was? Her eyes settled on Darien and she let loose such a terrific smile, he nearly fell over. It didn't even matter that the smile wasn't directed at him because for a brief moment, he completely forgot about all of his troubles with Rei.

"Surprise!" Serena exclaimed giddily. She brandished an expensive-looking gold bottle. "We brought champagne!"

They all cheered at such good fortune and it wasn't long before the party was in full swing once more. Their elation at succeeding in getting revenge on Juuban lent to their good spirits. Music blared off the walls, smoke poured across the room, and drinks were all around. If the Shields didn't own so much land, the neighbors would have surely called the police.

"I give up," announced Serena as she threw her cards onto the table in defeat. While she had lost yet another round of poker, Mina had continued her winning streak and was raking in her winnings with a grin.

"Anybody else up for another round?"

"I'll play." The voice came from Lita, who strutted over to their table with fire in her eyes.

Mina looked away with a frown. "Never mind. I don't feel like playing anymore."

Lita clenched her jaw. "Really, Mina? This whole cold-shoulder thing is getting really boring."

"Well then have fun being bored for the rest of your life." She started to walk away.

Lita's green eyes rolled northward. "Off to go meet up with Jamie?" The minute the words left her mouth she regretted them. It was a low blow to mention it in front of a room of people, but she was so mad about how her relationship with Nick had been so cruelly exposed, that the words had tumbled out of her mouth on their own accord.

Mina's blonde head whipped back around. "Why, do you need a ride to Nick's house?"

Lita walked over to her, so that they were staring each other straight in the face. Emerald clashed with baby blue and for a moment, all they did was stare.

"That's what I thought," Mina said, breaking their eye contact and turning her back on her. Though they had shared only a few words, the message was clear: this was war.

"Who's Jamie?" Ken asked when Mina slid past them.

She looked at his face, which had hardened with anger and a little bit of hurt. Seeing him like that made her fabulous night seem lousy all of a sudden and she almost felt like crying. She didn't want to see him like that, not when she was finally starting to forget everything.

"Nobody," she answered breezily, before retreating to the hastily constructed bar. Suddenly, she felt really thirsty. Pasting on a bright smile, she flirted shamelessly with Serena's new rockstar friend Sapphire until the dull ache in her chest was nothing more than a memory. If there was anything she'd learned, it was that there was nothing a dose of good old fashioned attention couldn't heal.

***

Somehow during the course of the night, Serena had managed to lose her shoes. The troublesome part was, she hadn't remembered ever taking them off. She slid past the groups of inebriated youths. While she had been having a blast at the party, her taste for it had begun to decline. It didn't help that Sapphire was hanging all over her like a sick puppy. Catching her reflection in one of the plasma screen televisions, she faintly smiled. She was barefoot and her wild blonde hair was escaping its carefully placed pins.

Her eyes swept across the room for Darien and she found him surrounded by his eager fan club with a dashing smile on his face. He looked so much like a movie star, she couldn't help but stare at him in awe. It wasn't long before his eyes locked with her own and he made his way over to her.

"Let's get out of here," he murmured, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the hallway.

A round of hoots and whistles emitted as they retreated down the corridor, but they paid no heed to them, for they were already lost in each other.

* * *

When dawn broke, everyone was safely tucked away into their private estates, nursing their killer hangovers and reminiscing fondly about their wild night. Across town, Juuban would wake up to find their pride and joy missing and only one name would be on their lips: Moto Azabu.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

_Author's notes:_

Sorry for the late post, this took me an eternity to write. I just want to thank all of you guys for your fabulous reviews, especially the longer ones because they made me smile.

Tell what you guys thought about this one and if you thought any parts were boring ;)


End file.
